Mali

Community Description
Didieni is a town of 6-7,000 people along the main road. It is a stop for travelers and truck drivers headed to Kayes, Senegal, and Mauritania. It has a lot of ethnic diversity, with Bambara, Peulh, Moors, and Mande people co-existing peacefully.

There is a mayor's office, a local health center, schools (up to the ninth grade), many women's associations, and several NGOs.

Unfortunately, there is a great deal of waterborne illnesses and malnutrition. As it is on the border of the Sahel, water is often in short supply. Current water sources are at a significant distance from the town.

The Peulh (a nomadic ethnic group) section of Didieni has a major water shortage, and has been seeking to build a large diameter well for 15-20 years, but until now has been unable to find financial assistance.

The project finally began with a groundbreaking ceremony, which included PCV Amanda Misiti as well as the village chief's representative, the mayor, and the head of the police, as well as many of the organizers of the project.

The work started in May, 2010, but the diggers encountered rock, which slowed the project down, and raised the cost above the financial resources of the community.

Project Description
This project is to complete construction of the well in Didieni. The work is being done by a team of skilled well diggers.

The well is of 1.5 meters diameter, and will be dug to a depth of between 15 and 25 meters, depending on the difficulties encountered in the digging. Water has been encountered at a depth of 10 meters.

The well will be covered and the top portion will be reinforced with cement. The water quality should be good, but it will still be treated with bleach, and shocked every month. Additional bleach will be added to the family drinking containers.

Funds remaining after the well construction will be used to construct two animal troughs and a wash area where women will be able to wash clothes.

The well offers many health and economic benefits to the community. It will be used for drinking water, to give water to the many livestock that belong to the Peulh people, to wash clothes, to build bricks to construct houses, and for women's gardens.

The community is providing 36% of the total construction costs, most of which is in cash, some of which is in-kind.

Project Impact
This project will benefit 2,000 people in 150 households.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Amanda Misiti

Comments
This project is a good example of Water Charity’s commitment to “finish” projects. Here we have a much-needed project, with a large community commitment, that has been years in the planning. It reached a point where it was close to being achieved, only to run into a frustrating barrier.

The well will improve the overall health of this section of the community, as they currently suffer from water shortages during the hot season and have poor quality water.

In addition, the well will give the women the ability to garden, allowing them to have access to vegetables, thereby decreasing malnutrition and offering them a source of income.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$100.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$400.00

Community Description
Socourani is a small farming village of approximately 425 people located in the Koulikoro Region of Mali. This village is like many other small villages in that it has no electricity or running water, but is unlike many other villages in that it has no school, no mosque, no boutique, and no cell phone reception.

In addition, one thing that sets Socourani apart is its lack of wells, and more importantly, lack of water in the wells. While there are 10 personal wells within the community, every one of them is dry, year round, causing everyone to have to fetch water at the village hand pumps for all water needs.

The villagers have tried deepening their wells in search of water, but the wells have all collapsed, as the people do not have the knowledge or the resources to brace their wells.

Villagers spend a lot of time waiting at the community pump or traveling long distances to neighboring villages' wells to fetch water for their animals.

Project Description
This project is to construct a large diameter community deep well.

Project funds will be used for purchasing cement, rebar, tools, transportation of these materials, and local mason labor to make and lay the bricks in the well.

The community will provide all of the labor for digging the well, which will be 30 meters deep and 1.5 meters in diameter. In addition, villagers will supply all the sand and gravel, and transport these materials to Socourani. In total, they will be providing over 70% of the total project cost.

Project Impact
Approximately 300 men, women, and children will be affected by the construction of this community deep well.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Owen Fitzgerald

Comments
The work must be done immediately, before the start of the rainy season, when everyone will head to their fields to begin farming. Thus, this is a critical project for the community, which has developed the project and pledged a great amount of support.

Dollar Amount of Project
$499.00

Donations Collected to Date
$499.00 + additional amounts for future projects.

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Mark and Jennifer Shima, of Peoria, IL, USA.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Owen Fitzgerald of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Owen and/or those of his fellow PCVs in the Mali.

Community Description
Dioila is a mid-size town of approximately 25,000 people and although it has some amenities that other small villages do not (including electricity and tap water), Dioila's townspeople are faced with the same problems: limited or no access to potable water, and lack of disposable income, and any means to generate it.

The 36 women of the local women’s association and their families operate a community garden. They have identified several needs at the garden including fencing, well repair (the well goes dry), and water storage.

To date, they have installed fencing to keep out stray animals, built three water-saving cisterns to improve irrigation and are currently repairing and deepening the well to provide water year round.

Additionally, a manual rope-and-knot pump built from only locally available materials is ready to be installed when the well is finished.

However, it is necessary to repair the top portion of the well to prevent storm water infiltration, and more specifically to prevent unclean groundwater from entering the well within the top 4 meters.

Project Description
This project is to repair the top well, which will allow only clean, naturally-filtered water to enter the well. It will include the installation of a well lid with a lock, and a well apron, to prevent standing water.

This well will serve as an example for the community and will provide the water needed for the garden to continue to thrive. It will also provide much needed income and improved nutrition for the women and their families.

Project Impact
300 people will directly benefit, including the women, their families, and those helping to build the well.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Chris Romero

Comments
This is an extremely effective project for a small amount of money. It builds upon the innovation, organization and camaraderie of a committed group of women who have already moved most of the way to implement their plans.

Dollar Amount of Project
$150.00

Donations Collected to Date
$150.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Gunnar Gundersen, of Montclair, CA, USA with extra donations from Chris's friends.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Chris Romero of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Chris and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Mali.

Community Description
Zeala is a small village in the Koulikoro region of Mali, West Africa. It is located approximately 90 kilometers north east of the capital, Bamako.

Zeala has a population of 669 persons. The main language spoken and understood is Bamabara, and not French. There is no hospital, electricity, or running water.

There are 10 wells in Zeala but they are not of good drinking water quality, and will soon run dry in the coming peak of hot season.

There are two pumps in the village that can be used year-round. However, one pump is currently only partially operational and the other cannot provide water.

Project Description
This project is to repair the two pumps in the village and restore them to working condition.

The work will be done through the Mayor’s Office. Each pump will be repaired by replacing the internal workings. In addition, the cement floor and base of each will be replaced, and a soak pit for the elimination of standing water will be installed.

The PCV has started a water and sanitation committee in the village, and they plan to ensure the operation and maintenance of the pump and collect money for future repairs.

Project Impact
The entire population of Zeala, consisting of 669 people, including 357 children, will benefit from this project, since they all use the pumps in the community.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Colleen Naughton

Comments
This project will help to alleviate diarrheal disease by providing clean water, as well as control insect-borne diseases throgh the elimination of standing water. It will ensure a constant safe water source during the dry season, and thus is crucial for the village.

Dollar Amount of Project
$247.00

Donations Collected to Date
$247.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Hope You Like It, "In Honor of Faith, Hope, and Love."

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Colleen Naughton of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Colleen and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in Mali.