West African partners empowering themselves, Sharing Water for Life / Water for All model
Learning from one another in West Africa.
Photo: CWS
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Water and environmental degradation continue to be major problems in West Africa. During past conflicts, Guinea saw an influx of refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia, and as a result experienced severe environmental degradation, made worse by lack of rain. Church World Service and partners the Christian Council of Guinea (CCG) and the Association of Peace and Solidarity in Burkina Faso (APS) are working together to help address communities’ water issues by launching two pilot projects based on the Water for Life / Water for All model.
Both APS and CCG are interested in the issues of water resources and environmental management and their impact on communities. APS is already working to help families affected by the lack of rain and environmental destruction, having implemented water and environmental programs. As a new organization, CCG was interested in learning from APS's experiences with environmental and water projects, and the Water for Life / All model and how it works.
In a peer exchange in January 2007, APS, CCG, and CWS discussed and compared the benefits and weakness of water pumping (using manual pumps) in Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso and Guinea, looking at the depth of wells/drilling required for effective water pumping. The groups discussed how adopting a community approach will be more beneficial in addressing the Guinea situation. As a result of this exchange and learning experience, CWS is providing support for CCG to implement a Water for Life / Water for All pilot program in Guinea.
Read more about CWS Water for All / Water for Life projects.