ZINADO, BURKINA FASO

FUNDED SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Living Water International’s program implementation through WASH Program Areas is unique, in that it aims to bring lasting physical and spiritual development in communities through a multi-year program focused on specific regions, thoughtfully integrating and contextualizing principles of water access, sanitation, hygiene, church mobilization, gospel proclamation, and will provide training and backstopping support during the first 6 years, until the local water committees and community have gather enough fees to build a reserve for funding future maintenance.  Water users will pay small monthly water user fees by household and these funds will be collected and managed by the water user committee for future repairs and maintenance of the system.  The well caregiver will be equipped to do the ongoing general care.

Life will be much better for this community, once the new well is completed.  There hasn’t been enough safe water access in the community, which has caused strife among members.  In addition to providing safe drinking water,  hygiene & sanitation education will be taught to community members.  It will become part of their daily life, stopping the transmission of germs, and letting them understand waterborne illnesses, and how not to get them.

Members will have the ability to grow a small garden or have time to sell items at the marketplace, instead of spending hours collecting water.  Children will not miss so much school from illness, so they will be able to complete their education and to concentrate while at school.  Families will be able to keep the money they earn, and use it towards food and other physical needs.

There will be a feeling of hope and opportunity within the community, knowing that members will no longer get sick from the water they drink. This will allow for productivity at school and more job opportunities for adults.

COMPLETED OCTOBER 11, 2022

The Zinado community was suffering in the midst of a pervasive water crisis. The residents had access to a safe water well in their community, but there wasn’t enough water for the 300 people who tried to rely on it, and water was scarce. The women and children tasked with water collection then had to get the water they needed from a series of hand-dug wells, but these were unreliable and unsafe. During the hot summer months, the water levels dwindled, making it difficult for the residents to access the water in the wells. And even when there was enough water in the wells, harmful bacteria and contagions made it unsafe for drinking.

Having unsafe water sources meant that water-related diseases were common in the Zinado community. These illnesses created further hardship for residents. If they were sick, the adults were unable to work or care for the crops they depended on to feed their families. Children and their under-developed immune systems were more vulnerable to waterborne illnesses, and they were often the ones who suffered the most. Diarrhea and dysentery made it difficult for them to attend school, putting their futures in jeopardy.

Sissao Mahamady is a 50-year-old farmer who lives in Zinado. He and his neighbors knew the water in the hand-dug wells was making them ill, but they had no other options. The water crisis was creating ripple effects in the community, making it difficult for residents to escape reaction-based patterns of living.

Community members hear the life-giving message
of the gospel during the well dedication service.

When leaders in the community heard about Living Water International’s work in the area, they knew they had found the answer to their water crisis.  Living Water Burkina Faso responded to the residents’ need by by drilling a new well in the community!  There are 300 people in the Zinado community itself, but are 2,000 people in the surrounding area, with whom the community will share their water – and God’s Word.

The Living Water staff also helped the Zinado community establish sustainability practices to help ensure a future of safe water access, guiding them in the creation of a water committee to oversee the care and maintenance of the well.  Living Water will stay in contact with the community to support sustainability efforts and monitor the well’s functionality.

In order to help the Zinado community members understand how to use the safe water you gave them, as a means of improving their health, the Living Water staff held a hygiene and sanitation promotion activity.  These interactive lessons included training on proper handwashing, how to transport and store water safely, and how to care for and maintain the hand pump on the new well. The residents now feel confident in their ability to take charge of their health.