Physical Health Morocco Project #6501

Clean Drinking Water for 1250 Villagers in Morocco

by High Atlas Foundation

Project Report | Apr 15, 2013
Our Greatest Needs

By Alexandra Stein | Country Manager

Testing the Irrigation System

Imagine for a minute that the water goes off in your home, and that all of your bottled water supply has run out. Imagine now you go to your water company and complain. No answer. You march to your local town council, demanding support. No answer. You hear that they are selling water a few towns over, so you wake up early, take the car and drive an hour each way to bring water. The days begin to pass this way, but you are tired, not feeling well, and barely have the energy to go to work.

Let's bring this scene to Rhamna Province in Morocco, where water sources are often far from villages. At the same time, Rhamna is vast, sprawling with agricultural potential in its large fields that turn green when it rains. There is no water company to call, the local council has the same issue, and the girls and young women responsible for carrying water can barely dream of having a car, let alone a donkey to help transport water.

The High Atlas Foundation is so fortunate to have you as a supporter. Thanks to the funds you donate, we can respond to the needs of the communities of Rhamna that are trapped in cyclical poverty because they struggle to have just the basic essentials. Water makes all the difference in terms of productivity, health, time to go to school, agriculture, and livelihoods.

This period, your donations, along with funding received from the OCP Foundation in Rhamna, have enabled us to build 70% of a water system in Aarabet, a village in Ben Guerir region of Rhamna. We won't stop here. Let's work together to make sure that we can complete this system, and give the people of Aarabet this most basic necessity.

The impact of your support is HUGE. And we at HAF are so grateful to you.

Water Tower and Electric Pump Facility

Links:

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Jan 14, 2013
Basin Expansion & Piping in the Works!

By Alexandra Stein | Country Manager

Oct 15, 2012
Clean Drinking Water Arrives in Ahl Mbarek Maassoud

By Hilary White | Grants Manager

HAF's Project Manager Abderrahim Ouarghidi reports:

An important Clean Drinking Water project has been completed in the village of Ahl Mbarek Maassoud, Rural Commune of Aït Taleb, Ben Guerir Province:
The water tower has been built, the trenches for the pipes were dug, and pipes installed. This is a realization of a dream. Ever since 1979, this commune has requested clean drinking water, and HAF is happy that its facilitation of Participatory Planning meetings and process have enabled the community members to come together, solve the problems, and make it happen, despite the challenges mentioned in earlier reports.

Approximately 60% of rural Moroccans now have access to clean drinking water, up from 14% in 1995. During that same period, however, access to house connections and improved water sources had extremely modest gains. Clean drinking water projects remain a top project priority expressed by High Atlas Mountain communities. Nationally, infant mortality rates are 26.49 per 1,000 — more than 4 times higher than the United States — and are significantly higher in rural areas. Too often, there seems to be a disconnect, as in this case, between the national human development figures that show marked improvements, and the reality of Morocco’s mountain communities which have been left behind.

NOTE:
Time spent to procure what is often non-potable water (in addition to fuel wood) is a burden on women and girls — and prevents their participation in education. While a 2001 World Bank survey showed that girls’ enrollment in school increased 16% in communities that benefited from the installation of clean drinking water systems, interestingly, this project priority often does not appear among the suggested projects from the women's participatory planning meetings. One possible reason for this, as HAF has observed in a different community, is that the time spent fetching water is also an opportunity during the day for women and girls to socialize together.

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