Clean, Safe, and Free Water for Senegal
Donation protected
Greetings from Senegal, West Africa! My name is Casey Bingham, and I live in the not-so-sleepy village of Yamane, located in the central region of Kaffrine. I am an Agriculture Volunteer, working to build better food security and better techniques utilized by farmers in order to improve degraded lands, and help to improve crop yields.
As a secondary project, I have brought a solar well pump to place in our existing well to provide free accessible water to the villagers. The pump provides dry season work options, which include more secure gardening. Gardens in Senegal are designed to provide fresh produce to eat, as well as crops like hot peppers and onions to sell. Our current growing season for any type of crop as of now is between the months of July and October, after which the rains stop and the option to continue any gardening is suspended until the coming rainy season. The pump takes care of that problem. Being as it is solar powered, there is always an ample amount of power to drive the pump, as it is VERY sunny here during the dry season.
So, what's the problem, you ask? The problem revolves around the safety and storage of the water, as well as the source itself. The well in the center of my village is 75 meters deep. It is not deep bore, but is an open well with a very short wall around the top exterior. There are many children that play around the well while their mothers do laundry. There are also a multitude of adults and livestock that are constantly around the well for various purposes. The open well is simply not safe. Many deaths each year in Senegal occur in open wells like mine, and I am determined to prevent that from happening here. My plan for this is to have a well cover fabricated and installed as quickly as possible. The cover will be locked with pad locks and only two people will have the keys to open it. This will make the well a much safer place for people to work and children to play.
There is also no option for storage of the water that is pumped throughout the day. The pump is constantly being turned on and off to prevent damaging the well and creating areas of standing water, which brings malaria carrying mosquitoes. I want to build a basin large enough to leave the pump on from morning until evening without fear of overflow. I also want to build a cover for the basin to prevent mosquitoes from breeding and spreading disease.
Any amount that you could give would be so appreciated not only by me, but by the village as a whole. Many of the people that will read this are from farming backgrounds, if not currently farming. You know the importance of water. You know the change that one good rain or one good stock tank can do for your crop. The change that it can make here is the same. It is not just a change in their lifestyles, but has the possibility to change their lives on the whole.
As a secondary project, I have brought a solar well pump to place in our existing well to provide free accessible water to the villagers. The pump provides dry season work options, which include more secure gardening. Gardens in Senegal are designed to provide fresh produce to eat, as well as crops like hot peppers and onions to sell. Our current growing season for any type of crop as of now is between the months of July and October, after which the rains stop and the option to continue any gardening is suspended until the coming rainy season. The pump takes care of that problem. Being as it is solar powered, there is always an ample amount of power to drive the pump, as it is VERY sunny here during the dry season.
So, what's the problem, you ask? The problem revolves around the safety and storage of the water, as well as the source itself. The well in the center of my village is 75 meters deep. It is not deep bore, but is an open well with a very short wall around the top exterior. There are many children that play around the well while their mothers do laundry. There are also a multitude of adults and livestock that are constantly around the well for various purposes. The open well is simply not safe. Many deaths each year in Senegal occur in open wells like mine, and I am determined to prevent that from happening here. My plan for this is to have a well cover fabricated and installed as quickly as possible. The cover will be locked with pad locks and only two people will have the keys to open it. This will make the well a much safer place for people to work and children to play.
There is also no option for storage of the water that is pumped throughout the day. The pump is constantly being turned on and off to prevent damaging the well and creating areas of standing water, which brings malaria carrying mosquitoes. I want to build a basin large enough to leave the pump on from morning until evening without fear of overflow. I also want to build a cover for the basin to prevent mosquitoes from breeding and spreading disease.
Any amount that you could give would be so appreciated not only by me, but by the village as a whole. Many of the people that will read this are from farming backgrounds, if not currently farming. You know the importance of water. You know the change that one good rain or one good stock tank can do for your crop. The change that it can make here is the same. It is not just a change in their lifestyles, but has the possibility to change their lives on the whole.
Organizer
Casey Bingham
Organizer
Mason, TX
