Water is a scarce resource in many regions of the world. In many cases not only people lack clean drinking water. The fields and livestock also suffer from the now increasingly occurring droughts. KOLPING provides support with building cisterns, rainwater storage tanks, and new wells.
Addressing rural exodus with water
Only those who have water can survive. This is why KOLPING drills wells, builds cisterns or rainwater storage tanks in the drought-affected regions of Africa and Brazil. As a result, small farmers have enough water for the house and farm also in the dry season. They can even water their fields with the precious resource. This enables farmers to harvest regularly and this helps to reduce rural exodus. Only those who have enough water stay in their villages and do not migrate to the cities in search of a future.
Fetching water becomes unnecessary
Cisterns and water storage tanks have another advantage: They are usually built next to the house and therefore it is no longer necessary to fetch water from the well. In Africa, this is a task which is traditionally executed by women. Already five-year old children carry heavy canisters on their heads for kilometres and several hours a day. During this time women cannot work on the fields, and children cannot go to school. If water is available next to the house, there is more time left for field work and school.
Clean water for everybody
The water quality increases thanks to the wells, cisterns, and water storage tanks. An increasing number of people get access to clean water through KOLPING and is able to significantly improve their health and hygienic situation. This is confirmed by Jentia Damas, a peasant farmer from Tanzania: “The water from the cistern is clean. We no longer have typhus, and worms and cases of diarrhoea have become very rare. I take pride in being a part of a community which creates such a significant project”.
