Clean Drinking Water for 1250 Villagers in Morocco

Thanks to our partners at Global Giving (YOU!) and other local and international partners, HAF supported the construction of a water basin for a village of 70 people in rural Morocco in the Beni Mellal Province.

Clean-drinking water first and foremost eliminates risks of water-born illness that contribute to high infant mortality rates in rural communities such as Ait Oum El Bakht. But it does so much more. With a nearby water source, girls and young women are liberated from the daily duty of transporting water multiple times a day from distance sources, enabling more time for education, economic productivity, and leisure.

A year ago, at the start of the participatory process and assessment, HAF and its local partners identified the need for a water basin in the commune of Ait Oum El Bakht, where a village of 70 people had no access to clean drinking water.

Here’s how it happened: The community worked together to identify an area of communal land on which the basin could be constructed. Next, through a community meeting and vote, a local project leader who oversaw the construction process was identified. Male community members donated their labor and time to construct the water basin over twenty-two days. A local expert offered his skills in kind to oversee the construction process, which was accomplished very quickly, thanks to the will of community members toactively engage.

While we are so pleased to have contributed to the construction of this water basin, there is still more to be done.  We hope to create a network of piping to bring water to each household in the village, which requires a strong pump, piping, and labor (which is always donated in kind by community members as their contribution to the project).  

We hope you will continue to partner as we continue to develop and expand this project and others like it. Thank you.