Basic hygiene –related
diseases, particularly waterborne conditions continue to kill millions of
people every year, in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the affected people are
children.  Studies conducted in Douala,
Cameroon suggest that lack of access to potable water and absence of sanitation
are the likely culprits (Ako et al. 2009). With better education in hygiene and
supply of clean water, and it is possible to control disease burden. Indeed, in
systematic reviews published by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and
Hygiene (Wright, 2004) as
well as The Lancet (Fewtrell
, 2005), clean water and hygiene intervention have both clearly proven to
reduce waterborne illnesses. Unfortunately, easy access to clean water remains
a significant challenge in most rural areas in Cameroon. One of those areas is
Bonepoupa, a small village that is about 22 miles (35 km) from Douala, the
largest city of Cameroon. Of note, Douala is also the economic capital of
Cameroon and the entire CEMAC region that includes countries like the
Congos,  Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and
the Central African republic.

Problem:

Bad water is a silent killer. It kills more than weapons of mass
destruction, though silently.
“Camerounaise des Eaux”, the only water authority in the country is
unable to provide services to many rural areas, including Bonepoupa.
Access to water in this community of over 500 people is through hand-dug
wells and a couple of privately owned, hand operated water wells. Most
people use the nearest stream for bathing, cocking, and to wash clothes.
There are no sanitations with running water. 
Given that hand-dug wells
are shallow and close to latrines, they pose a serious sanitary risk because of possible
fecal contamination (Bain, 2014).
Hand-dug wells go dry during period of drought when the water table
drops.

Solution: Build a deep
drilled well with submersible electric pump

Objective

Provide for safe drinking water for domestic and livestock uses for the people of Bonepoupa

Encourage the participation
of the local community in understanding the impacts of clean water and better sanitation.

Scope
The end result of the project will
be a deep drilled well with submersible electric pump given currently available
hydrogeological data of the land.  

Key Stakeholders

Beneficiary: The local community

Sponsor: SAWA NYA GEORGIA

Project manager: Local,
traditional authorities

Monitoring
and Evaluation
Updates on the advancement of
the project will be communicated electronically (emails with photos, video
calls, etc.).