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SENEGAL - Keur-Baba-Alima, water for the village The 1,600 inhabitants of Keur-Baba-Alima only have very small water reserves, with dry wells during 4 or 5 months of the year. But the village is mobilized, it has sought advice from Eau Vive and its Senegalese partners, and it has made the choice to connect up to a water source 4.5 km from the village. The technical study is favorable. The Water Ministry has approved the project which will include 4.5 km of pipes and 3 taps distributed throughout the village. The village is organizing itself, growing crops on collective land, and collecting contributions by neighborhood and by family, as well as from villagers now residing in town. Approved Senegalese companies have undertaken the responsibility for the work. The village makes a significant contribution in labor to the project, in particular for digging pipe trences. In total, the cost of action has grown to 201,531 francs of which 25% was financed by the village. In France, Eau Vive organizes their effort in relation to the village with the Emmaus Communities of Pau, Bayonne and Montauban. Six friends of the Communities have joined the population of Keur-Baba-Alima to show their solidarity with the local communities by working alongside them. Today, water flows in the village of Keur-Baba-Alima. The village has finished its project, it has set up a village commission to manage the network and to organize the payments for the water, to the tune of 10 centimes per 25 liters, to cover the functioning costs and equipment upkeep. The commission has given women the job of managing the taps. |