Women using the new water system

The population of Ndiagne Walo and its surrounding villages can heave a sigh of relief thanks to their brand new water tower. The tower was funded by a partnership between Plan,  the Government of Senegal, the Republic of Korea and the Government of Canada.

Easing the burden

This community had been suffering from a lack of water which was felt especially by women and girls who had to walk long distances to fetch it, or queue for hours at the traditional village well. All this just to get a few buckets of poor quality water. 

The new tower will give nearly 3,000 people living in 6 different villages access to running water. As well as providing safe drinking water, the project will also provide enough water for livestock.

Girls and women will benefit the most

Girls and women stand to benefit the most from the new water network

Among those who will benefit most from the project are school girls – carrying the responsibility of fetching water often has a negative impact on their academic performance. But now they have safe, running water, they can dedicate more time to their studies.

Women too are responsible for fetching drinking water, and drawing it from a very deep well using their bare hands is hard work. But for this community, this is all in the past.

At the opening ceremony, the Governor of the region of Kaolack said: "Studies demonstrate a direct connection between water collection and school performance. In my job, I personally witnessed a high rate of children dropping out of school due to fetching water."

Extra benefits: market gardens, new latrines

The water tower brings other benefits. Instead of leaving the village for big cities like Dakar or Banjul during the 9 months of the dry season, young people can begin activities like market gardening. Over 600 women have started growing vegetables, some of them also rear livestock. These activities bring extra income to households.

Additionally, thanks to the tower, separate blocks of school toilets for boys and girls have been built at the local primary school. As a result, children no longer have to go home or to the nearby field when they need to relieve themselves.

The 4 remaining villages in the community will be connected to the water network in the next phase of the project, as the water tower has the capacity to serve all communities within a range of 15 kilometres.