One village in the African country of Senegal is having a hard time getting water to the community. This village’s water shortage highlights the global need for water. Efforts are being made around the world to supply clean water to the most vulnerable or at risk communities.
Northern Senegal Struggles to Find Water
A well in a remote village of northern Senegal is barely providing any water for the village’s residents. This village called Tata Bathily is located in the Matam region of the country where temperatures can reach over 123 degrees Fahrenheit. Locations of the underground water for wells in the region are picked randomly. Deep holes are dug into the ground until they reach a place where a large amount of groundwater can be found. Two studies done in March 2022 found that groundwater could be an answer to supplying water to sub-Saharan Africa. Groundwater is the water found underground in the cracks of soil, sand, and rocks called aquifers. According to data from the British Geological Survey, Senegal is home to an aquifer that has been well supplied from rain over the years.
When the well built in 2010 in Tata Bathily began to run low, the government of Senegal built another well in order to supply the town with water. When that well began to provide less and less water, the community raised $5,000 in order to build a new well. The new well was built, but failed to hit any water underground leaving the villagers without a consistent or stable water supply.
Even though the community raised thousands of dollars for a new well, this well still did not provide the water that the community needed. With the current well, water runs out early in the day, if there is any water at all. “What’s difficult is the scarcity of the water. We don’t drink enough to satisfy our thirst, we don’t wash and we don’t do the laundry,” stated Oumou Drame, a mother of five in the village. Drame travels to the well before the sun rises in order to collect water before it runs out.
Others in the village and surrounding areas have dug holes in the ground in order to collect water. The water from these holes is dirty, but with little to no water from the well, for some this is what has to be used. This water has even made children sick. Everyday Aladje Drame, a resident in the village, uses a bucket to collect water from pits in the ground. He fills around 12 buckets and puts them onto his cart led by his donkey. Drame actually sells the water from these pits for 10 cents per 20 liters. “If there is water, I will be able to work as a gardener and grow lots of things,” Drame said. Even though Drame is selling water, he wants to garden and grow vegetables, but with little water available in the area, and the water that is available is dirty, he cannot support a garden.
The Water Crisis: An International Issue
A lack of access to clean drinking water is an issue that communities are dealing with not only in Senegal, but all over the world. According to the United Nations (UN), 2.2 billion people do not have access to safely managed drinking water services. In 2019, the UN also found that almost 300,000 children under five died from diseases due to unclean or unsafe drinking water.
Clean water is not only needed for drinking, but it is also needed for sanitation and hygiene. Sanitation and hygiene includes using water for things such as bathing, washing hands, and using the restroom. According to the UN, over 4.2 billion people, or half of the world’s population lack access to safely managed sanitation services. The UN also found that 3 billion people in the world do not have basic facilities to even wash their hands at home.
Access to clean water is not only important to the health of a community, but also is connected to future success. The organization, H2O for Life, has found that in many communities, women and children can spend up to 60 percent of everyday going to collect water. It is women and children who do the majority of water collecting as well as caring for the sick, which is often caused by unclean water. Due to the time it takes to do this, they have less time for other activities such as going to school or starting a business.
The lack of access to clean water greatly affects women and girls. “Due to lack of access to private sanitation facilities at schools, many children and teens (especially girls) cannot attend school,” states the H2O for Life website. Once puberty hits, many girls must stop going to school because of the lack of clean water and private bathroom facilities or spaces. Compared to men and boys who are able to go to school, complete their education without stopping, and start businesses, women and girls are more affected by the water crisis.
Along with affecting a person’s ability to go to school and provide for themselves, lack of access to clean water can do great damage to a person’s health, especially kids. H2O for Life found that around 2 million people die every year from diarrhea-related diseases connected to unclean water. Children are especially vulnerable or in danger of dying from these types of diseases. Both the health of a community, as well as the success of its members relies on the access to clean water.
A Path Towards Clean Water
As communities struggle to access water, efforts are being made to help tackle this crisis. Organizations like H2O for Life are working to combat water shortages across the globe. They were founded in order to teach students all over the world about the water crisis. In an interview with NexGen News, Mitchell LeGrand, the Education Programs Manager at H2O for Life, stated that 31 percent of schools do not have access to clean water or sanitation. This means that students don’t have a place on campus to get water or even use the bathroom. H2O for Life wants to stop this and are providing younger people with the tools to help fight the global water crisis as well.
According to LeGrand, there are two types of water scarcities or shortages. The first is physical water scarcity. This means that water is not close by and must be brought in from another place or the little water that is there must be caught and stored away for a long time. To combat physical scarcity, rain catch systems can be used. When it rains in dry climates, like deserts, these types of systems will catch the rainwater and clean it so it is usable to drink.
Hydrogeologists also can help to combat physical water scarcity. To break it down, “hydro” means water, and a “geologist” is someone that studies the earth. Therefore, a “hydrogeologist” is a type of scientist that deals with water and where and how it can be found on the earth, specifically underground or on the surface. They are trained at finding water, and many experts believe they will be important as climate change gets worse and the water in certain areas becomes harder to find. Alan MacDonald, a hydrogeologist at the British Geological Survey, has stated, “The story for Senegal is that the good quality groundwater may not be exactly where you want it to be.” Hydrogeologists have learned that if water is found, it could be 10 times the depth of the water found in the wells of Tata Bathily. To reach this water it would cost around $20,000.
Along with physical scarcity, there is also economic water scarcity. This deals more with the resources of a community. For example, a rural community where residents don’t have the money to pay for a well to get the water out of the ground. To help combat economic scarcity, organizations may send money to help the community buy the tools and resources they need to access water. The money can also help the communities build wells, bathrooms, as well as hand washing stations, so residents can continue to get the water that they need.
The global water crisis is affecting countries all over the world. Not only does lack of access to water affect a person’s health, it can also affect their future success. Organizations are working hard to make sure the most vulnerable have access to water.
To learn more about how you and your school can get involved, go to https://www.h2oforlifeschools.org/
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