Baria in Senegal, a village that is a 6-hour’s drive from the capital Dakar, is typical, just like so many others in Africa. Most people live off their small yields from agriculture which is mainly vegetable production. The village has no clean water, no electricity, and the nearest hospital is situated in the neighbouring state Gambia. Children tend to suffer from malnutrition which can cause long-term damage and does impair their ability to attend school. During the rainy season, the dirt roads leading to Baria are only partially accessible.
Improving the living conditions
We invite you to join forces in improving the living conditions of the Barians and developing a practicable vision for their future. Our approach, helping people to help themselves, can be achieved through targeted support: providing means for the villagers to take the situation into their own hands and improve the quality of their lives.
The well project
Our first project – the building of a solar-powered fountain – will provide a reliable resource for sufficient quantities of clean drinking water for the villagers. Thanks to the German company Bonergie and their Senegal branches a sophisticated well will be dug and fitted with a solar-powered pump. With special water filters designed at the University of Kassel and kindly donated by Lions Group Germany, up to 4000 litres of clean drinking water per day can be provided.
The financing of this well comprises the well excavation and the construction of the actual pumping system with a small water tower to store the water and to operate the filtering equipment. Upon commissioning, a usage fee will be introduced to ensure that the operation and maintenance of the well can be maintained.
Always in exchange with the villagers
Gabi Canavan, our Munich friend who has been in contact with the villagers almost daily for some time, has decided to step in. She will travel to Baria in September and supervise the construction works. At the same time she and the villagers will develop further measures to transform Baria, the far-away forgotten village into a better place in the future.
The well is the first project in a series of activities that we plan to implement with your kind help; other projects will follow one step at a time. Information about the progress will be updated here on a regular basis. We will be making a point of publishing the accounts of others who are involved in the project – you, the donors, as well as the builders and the villagers, so as to have everybody on board.
Update 29 November 2018:
The well is now officially inaugurated. The villagers have been drawing water for several weeks and we are very happy about the smooth implementation of this project. The following pictures demonstrate how well this fountain is accepted.
