RICHMOND, VA, Mar. 22, 2011 -- A water pyramid in The Gambia means that villagers now have access to clean water. It's an innovation that ChildFund International is highlighting as part of World Water Day.
Sibanor village, the capital of the Foni Bintang Karanai District in the Western Division of The Gambia, benefits from the pyramid, which provides clean, safe water for drinking and cooking. Ding Ding Bantaba Child and Family Support Association, working with ChildFund and the Dutch organization Aqua Aero Water System BV, succeeded in getting a water project proposal funded by the World Bank. The grant built the water pyramid, which consists of a borehole and a rainwater collection system that provides clean and sufficient water (up to 5,000 liters per day) to serve Sibanor and surrounding villages.
This easy access to water is critical in Africa where people travel long distances, standing in long queues to get water -- water that is often not safe for drinking or cooking. Sometimes the water runs out before those in line can fill their containers. They return home empty handed. A lot of time was wasted waiting to get water before the pyramid was built.
Today, ChildFund continues to monitor the viability of the community-operated enterprise and ensure water-quality controls remain in place. Such controls are critical given that an estimated 3,900 children die each day because of diarrhea linked to dirty water.
Numerous sponsored children and their families in Sibanor are now benefiting from clean water. It's a victory to celebrate on World Water Day.
ChildFund International is a global child development and protection agency serving more than 15.2 million children and their family members in 31 countries. For more than 70 years, we have helped the world's deprived, excluded and vulnerable children survive and thrive to reach their full potential and become leaders of enduring change. As a member of ChildFund Alliance we create supportive environments in which children can flourish.
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