Give it to me clean

One of Plan's boreholes which provides an entire village with clean water

Fifty metres away from the river bank stands a borehole with a man powered pump. It is a US $15,000 worth infrastructure, which means a lot for the community of Darbani, a village 125 km west from the capital city. From 2001 to 2007 Plan Niger invested more than US $4.8 million to supply its two program areas with clean water. Up to now, 54 boreholes with a man powered pump have been installed and 30 water supply systems equipped with solar pumps are in place.

Boy playing in the river

Halima pushes the pedal softly. Clean water springs from a stainless pipe. “Why don’t you get water for free”? We asked to her. “So I can get cholera?” she replied, laughing at me. “When I get water from the river, it is just for cooking or for laundry. Harmless, isn’t it?” she added.

The pump is at the centre of a clean circular cement build block. Shoes off, women wait their turn, lining up their buckets which they cover up to avoid airborne sources of contamination.

In rural Niger, a person needs 12 litres of water a day. For a typical family, the daily water supply costs up to 40 cfa. It seems high in a country where countryside households make on average, about 14,000 cfa a year. According to a United Nations Development Program 2000 survey, 5% of this income is dedicated to water purchase.

Without boreholes women have to fetch water from the river

Plan provides area with clean water

Access to clean water is critical for children’s health and Plan is succeeding at resolving this problem. In Dosso region, one of our two program areas, only 12.9% of families had access to clean water source within a reasonable distance in 2001. Two years later this figure was up nearly 50%, and 82% in 2006, thanks to Plan’s support. This is two percentage points more than the initial target.