Building Wells - Creating Water Access in Cameroun

As hard as it is to admit, we need your help.

Because of the freshwater scarcity in Cameroun, Africa, only 30%-40% of the Cameroonian people have access to freshwater resources and drinking water. This issue is so urgent, that the lack of enough water within the city of Yaounde and Emombo quickly becomes a matter of life or death, completely dictating the lives and future of those within it.

Who are we and why are we raising money?

We are Building Water Wells. We are a small non-profit organization providing an important service to the Yaounde community, building wells within the city to create more drinking and freshwater access. Our Cameroun-based team locates hidden and untapped underground water sources and builds wells from start to finish in order to access water for the people. We are a hands-on organization creating an impact you can quickly see, with our owner often flying from California to get his hands dirty and work in the field alongside his employees.

Here’s the situation: Since the beginning of our water well creations in 2015, Paul Tchounga has been raising his own personal funds in order to build wells within Yaounde. Throughout the last 8 years, he has been able to build and complete two water wells within the community, providing 8,000 liters of water an hour for Cameroonians. But it’s not enough. The speed at which a singular well can be completed with proper financial support can be minimized from a few years to 2 - 3 months, and with your donations, we can create more wells and freshwater access at a speed with can show real results, and quickly change the lives of thousands of Yaounde people.

The amount we need to raise to construct 1-2 wells is $20,000. Although this is our goal, we are hoping to push past it to continue to build more water wells and create more freshwater access. We know this is a huge ask, but with your donation, we can get to work right away and show results that many large organizations take years to make.

Our Story

Paul Tchounga (Owner and Foundation Creator) was born and raised in Yaounde, Cameroun, seeing the lack of water access on those around him first-hand. When moving and living in the US, the drastic difference in privilege was eye-opening, and although big companies promised change within Africa, multiple revisits back home revealed that change in freshwater access wasn’t happening.

Committed to creating the change these outside organizations promised, Paul Tchounga took the initiative and began the construction of his first well in 2015 in Yaounde. Flying back and forth between his family in California and his family in Cameroun, he sacrificed time with his children and hours of plane travel in order to bring teams together and create the opportunities and water accessibilities those in the United States had.

We are proud to be creating a real impact in the lives of others and building opportunities for communities within our states to make a real change for communities in Cameroun with access to fewer privileges. With empathy towards others, we aim to continue to create sustainable living resources and accessibilities that will create change both now and for our collective future.

Our Situation & Request

We are not able to continue to fund alone the building of more water wells in Cameroun, as a single well can range between $10,000 - $20,000. With the cost of materials and hiring teams continuing to skyrocket with inflation, the amount of money our owner and company have been able to put aside has drastically lowered each year.

Asking for your financial help is hard, and we understand the difficulty of enduring the rising costs all around us. With our family enduring similar strains, it has helped us realize the fortunate circumstances that allow us to have access to our basic needs while in this economic situation. Many people in Cameroonian communities are currently enduring skyrocketing prices and less access to their basic needs; making it difficult to protect their families, their homes, and provide fresh water and drinking water to their households.

We realize that the decision to continue to create wells in Yaounde’s underprivileged communities doesn’t just belong to us - it ultimately belongs to you. Through reflection on our building and funding process so far, we recognized that it is also our duty to share our mission with our communities, offering others the chance to also make a difference.

Transitioning from doing it all ourselves, we are discovering that it’s okay to ask our community for help. For us, it’s a sign of strength, trust in our community, and proof of the powerful belief in our mission. We are reminded that asking for help opens new doors of opportunity to help others and change their lives for the better.

How Will The Funds Be Used

All funds gathered in the GoFundMe campaign will be used to do the following:

If we receive funds that exceed our initial goal, 100% of that money will be immediately put toward the creation of the next and future wells within Yaounde. Any and all funds will create the opportunity to hire larger teams, with the potential to one day conduct and manage the building of multiple wells and constructions at one time.

How Can You Support Us

If you would like to make a private donation outside of the campaign, or if you are part of an established business that would like to collaborate in order to help progress our mission forward, you can contact us privately via email at [email redacted].

We kindly ask that our email only be used for serious inquiries only. This ensures our accessibility and timely responses to businesses, donors, and sponsors without losing them in the inbox.

We Appreciate You!

It is important for us to recognize and appreciate you for your continued donations, social sharing, and support. We thank our generous community for allowing us to make real change within Yaounde, Cameroun, allowing us to take charge of the change we can create for the people. We aim to continue the building of water wells and use our privilege and accessibility to help others without them.

As previously mentioned, we recognize the difficult time for many people out there. We are only asking you to make a donation if you can, as any donation starting at $5 can go a long way in the building of more freshwater sources. Our wells have already begun to have a real impact and change lives, and with your help, we can expedite the number of wells built within the city of Emombo, and more.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your support means the world to us, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

With appreciation and gratitude,

Paul Tchounga and the BuildingWaterWells Team

Learn More:

https://www.buildingwaterwells.com/

*All photos are the licensed and owned property of BuildingWaterWells