WATER IS LIFE
BACKGROUND - WATER CRISIS IN KANDALE
In Kandale, fetching water is a necessary daily chore that every family faces. Although water is plentiful in Kandale in nearby rivers and streams, collecting it requires a long, treacherous walk down and back up a steep embankment, sometimes several times a day, lugging 25-liter jugs of water. This chore is usually given to children, especially girls, and it eats away at their time for learning and for play, and negatively impacts their overall health and development. In 2019, REVE Kandale, with the support of various donors, purchased and installed three large cisterns that collect rainwater off the roof of the multi-purpose education center. While the cisterns are a great help for part of the year, they do not provide drinking water, and they are quickly emptied during the annual dry season.
In a recent survey, the head of nearly every Kandale household that participated said the family did not have enough water to meet daily needs. Kandale residents use about 15 liters of water per day. The United Nations estimates that between 50 and 100 liters per person per day are needed to ensure that most basic needs are met. Americans use more than 300 liters per day. Further, and even more worrisome, every household said the lack of water impeded its ability to eat.
OUR BOREHOLE SUCCESS STORY
Our efforts to address Kandale’s water crisis took a major step forward in 2023 with the drilling of a 129 meters deep borehole at the Mennonite mission station.
The borehole was completed in May and within days was providing clean, potable water for the greater Kandale community with the help of a temporary diesel-powered pump. The lines of people queuing for water at the tap demonstrated the demand for water, not just among the residents in the mission area, but also among those in surrounding villages.
Drilling of the borehole was the first phase of the two-phase project. Phase 2, which was completed in early 2024, includes installation of a permanent solar-powered pump, an array of solar panels to power the pump, and two 5,000 liter water tanks to serve as a distribution point for the population.
It is not expected that the borehole will provide for all of Kandale’s water needs, but together with the existing water catchment system that operates during the rainy season, it will greatly improve the quality of life for the Kandale community. It will reduce the burden primarily on women and school-age girls who must trek to Kandale’s primary water source – a natural spring located several kilometers away and down a treacherous steep ravine.
We are currently monitoring the borehole operation with a view toward potentially expanding the distribution network in the years to come.
ACCESS TO WATER IMPACT
Education
Children who must travel long distances to collect water for their families often miss hours of school each day or miss out on education altogether. Children miss school because they are either sick from waterborne diseases or busy collecting water.
When children are sick from unsafe water, they miss out on their education, which keeps them in a devastating cycle of poverty. Clean water helps keep kids in school, especially girls.
Less time collecting water means more time in class.
Time
Each day, women in Sub-Saharan Africa spend a total of 16 million hours collecting water.
Access to clean water gives communities more time to grow food, earn an income, and go to school -- all of which fight poverty.
Studies show 30% increase in girls' school attendance for every hour reduction in water collection time.
When a community gets water, women and girls get their lives back. They start businesses, improve their homes, and take charge of their own futures.
Health
Every 60 seconds, a child dies from preventable waterborne diseases. Worldwide, diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Due to water crisis, many people in Kandale routinely reuse dirty water for their daily needs. The use of dirty and unsafe water impacts all areas of life. It can cause illnesses and even death, leading families to spend up to half their income at health clinics buying medicine and treating waterborne illness—all of which are preventable.
Access to clean water and basic sanitation can save around 16,000 lives every week.
