Central African Republic

Towards sustainable access to drinking water for vulnerable populations

• Funding: ECHO
• Global budget: €260,000
• Duration: 9,5 months (March – December 2009)

The town of Sam Ouandja has no source of potable water despite the fact that it is available underground in sufficient quantity. The problem stems from the lack of infrastructures capable of extracting the water. Beyond the technical work required to access water, it is important to support the creation of collective water management tools to ensure the action’s sustainability.

Project aims:

• Improved access to drinking water for the target communities
• Raise the level of knowledge about water management/use, and foster better water-related practices

More specifically, Triangle G H is:

• Creating and equipping 3 new bore-holes
• Building and protecting 18 wells
• Training a town water committee
• Training technicians to maintain the wells and bore-holes
• Raising awareness about good water-related practices
• Testing the drainage systems
• Creating a hygiene committee and training/monitoring 20 community agents
• Assessing the suitability of practices related to water and hygiene

This programme will possibly be extended through a contract in the rural areas of Sam Ouandja; indeed, the technical solutions here envisaged require very little maintenance.