Water, Health & Women's Empowerment- Guinea Bissau

Women across the world and across Africa face a multitude of challenges every day, many of which often are not discussed. This topic is incredibly diverse and challenges which women face in one country or region can be radically different from those faced elsewhere on the continent. Indeed, for any topic regarding Africa to be generalised across the entire continent is more likely than not, a gross oversimplification. In a sense the only constant in such an expansive and varied continent is that there are no constants.

While we cannot make generalisations and sweeping statements, we can discuss some of the adversities which women in rural Guinea Bissau in particular face and some of the ways to tackle these adversities. These will of course, not apply to every community, region or individual but it can highlight what thousands, if not millions, of women deal with on regular basis.

With many women having to walk several kilometres every day to fetch gallons of water so that their families can drink, cook and clean, a huge number are restricted to domestic duties, having to sacrifice basic education and employment opportunities. This represents a large portion of society who are not being given equal access to the tools which can benefit themselves and society. Whilst water is absolutely essential for everybody, carrying gallons of it every day often has serious long term health implications (for example musculoskeletal disorders and physical injury), and women in these regions often receive no recognition for their efforts. Another cost associated with carrying water, often for more than 30 minutes at a time, is the caloric expenditures, particularly during the dry season. Getting enough food and importantly, protein is far too often a luxury for women and children in many rural communities, with what little protein there is regularly going to the men. This regularly leads to chronic malnutrition for women and children.

Part of solution here is simple but not always easy: build wells within villages. This dramatically decreases time spent transporting water, allowing more time to attend school, work or be active in the community for the benefit of all. Training men on the value of splitting household tasks and of having women active in the community is key. A shift in perspective is a powerful tool. Creating women-led community market gardens and training women in nutrition and sustainable agriculture allows them to grow a variety of vegetables and diversify their diet, enabling them to consume more protein and vitamins and thus tackling malnutrition.

In many remote, rural communities Guinea Bissau, education is not an option as there are simply no schools within walking distance, and those that do exist are too expensive for many families to be able to afford sending their children. While on the face of it, this appears to be an issue which would affect boys and girls equally, it actually has a much greater negative impact for girls and young women. A 2012 study conducted by Mocan and Cannonier (Empowering Women Through Education: Evidence from Sierra Leone) in Sierra Leone showed that an increase in education for women positively impacted their attitudes towards issues which directly affected them. For example, it was found that women remaining in education longer radically raised their awareness and intolerance of violence against women. Education also helped develop a deeper understanding and knowledge of women’s health issues as well as decreasing the desired number of children and increasing their desire for contraception and AIDS testing. Investing more in education is the obvious and ideal solution here however if governments are unable or unwilling to make such large investments, education can be brought by other means. Local women can be trained on women’s health issues as well as HIV/AIDS. This knowledge can then be effectively passed down between villages and across generations.

Poor education (for men and women) surrounding menstruation as well as a lack of toilets, means that many women in rural communities struggle with how to manage their periods. With unfair social pressures and expectations in addition to not being able to access latrines and go to the toilet in privacy, many women do not dare practice open defecation during the day (unlike their male counterparts who can go whenever they please). Women being forced to practice open defecation at night significantly increases their chances of injury, from (potentially lethal) snake and insect bites and becoming victims of sexual violence. The incidences of sexual violence towards women in Africa often go unreported and ignored with social taboos preventing more women from coming forward. Again, education is key here. Workshops can be held in rural communities for men and women which address these issues. Such educational programmes are often not carried out by government programmes or international aid agencies. Without behaviour and conceptual shifts in these issues for entire communities of people, truly sustainable progress cannot be made. Another solution is construction of latrines/toilets so that women have somewhere to go where they can have privacy. This cannot be overstated enough and is something which many people across the globe do not have to think twice about. In Guinea Bissau however, simple latrines can literally save lives.

It is important to remember that no one person has all the answers and indeed, there is no one answer. There are countless challenges ahead but there are also countless solutions. Solutions which make real impacts for real people and can significantly change lives. Sometimes the situation may seem dire but everyone holds the potential to make a difference. Together we can overcome any challenge, no matter how big or how numerous they may be. There are people making a difference every day. You can be one of them. Volunteer. Donate. Spread awareness. Not everyone has the opportunity to make a difference but, chances are, if you are reading this on your phone, tablet, laptop or computer, then you probably do.

Special thanks to Funmi Adebayo and Naya Akakwarm for their assistance with this report.

On behalf of WellFound’s Board of Trustees and staff, we want to express our deepest gratitude for your continued support of our work in rural Guinea Bissau. Donors like you deserve credit for so much of the amazing work which we accomplished in 2018. It has truly changed lives but what sort of change did you help make a reality in 2018? On a recent trip to Guinea Bissau, WellFound’s Chair and Trustee, David, visited to check up on the progress of the project first hand and see how the villages have changed over the past year.

Eticunda: This is a newer village where we started work in 2018. Eticunda now has a working solar water pump system with high quality, clean and safe water. This alone is a huge achievement and will contribute to drastically decreasing illnesses resulting from contaminated water. The village has also completed a CLTS (Community Led Total Sanitation) programme. This means that members of the community got together and collaboratively planned and built latrines for everybody to use, saving them from having to go to the toilet outside in the bush where there are serious risks from a number of health issues and infections as well as snake and insect bites. People can now use the toilet is a safe and clean environment in privacy. David and our staff were pleased to arrive at the village and receive a reception of singers, dancers and excited children.

Government officials from the Ministry of Resources who had visited the village recently joined our team and were happy to announce that Eticunda is now officially an ODF (Open defecation free) village. This a huge step forward and badge of honour for members of the community as well as WellFound and you, our donors.  David and the team were pleased to be invited to participate in a ceremony in the centre of the village. Speeches were made by Hertumisa, Joao and David, and then by two government officials from the Ministry of Resources. Finally, two speeches from representatives of the village who thanked WellFound and everyone who had made this possible. They promised to look after the facilities and said they would not forget WellFound.

Acuminca: Another new village with a new and fully functioning solar pump to bring clean water for drinking, washing, and cooking to everybody in the community. David was also happy to see that the area for the women-run market garden is ready to start farming nutritious vegetables and that the plots are protected from livestock and other animals with good strong fencing; this is an ongoing issue across Africa and if animals manage to enter the market garden plots they can devastate crops and undo months of hard work. The fact that the villagers have got good, strong and durable fencing is an excellent sign that their plots will be safe and ultimately malnutrition arising from lack of access to a varied diet, will be curbed. Another sign that Acuminca is on a path to improved health and hygiene is that the CLTS programme has been completed. Once again, David and the team were welcomed and joined in with a similar ceremony to that in Eticunda. The government officials made the declaration of ODF. The villagers expressed their thanks to WellFound.

Anipoco: This is the third of WellFound’s new villages on the island of Caravela. The well borehole and solar system is working well, bringing safe water to those who need it; the CLTS programme is complete; and the market garden is cleared. This marks another victory for the community members and WellFound’s staff who have been working tirelessly on these remote islands.

David, Joao and Hertumisa took part in yet another ODF declaration ceremony, with government officials giving Anipoco the ODF certification, something which everybody present was immensely proud of but none more so than the residents themselves. Their lives have been truly changed and they were sure to make this known to our team.

Etighaore: Yet another success! This was the village where one of WellFound’s trustee’s Gill had taken the troubling picture when she visited in March, of the green water which villages had no choice but to use for drinking, cooking and cleaning, and had to share with animals. Happily, David was able to take a photo of the current situation. Not only is their new well fully functioning and bringing clean water, but now the villagers have a safe water storage tank. This ensures that the community will have access to clean water in the dry season, when water levels get dangerously low. The villagers are very happy. In his speech the chief of the village said he was a big man, but he had been begging for clean water. Yet again we were thrilled to participate in the government-approved ODF declaration ceremony.

The progress which has been made in this village can be summed up in two pictures. The first which shows where the villagers used to source their water before WellFound started work in the area; now you can see happy residents showing off their water storage tank and clean water tap!

All in all, we are thrilled to have David report such fantastic progress in these remote and often forgotten about island communities. As ever our staff have been working incredibly hard and we must thank you, our donors for all that you have helped to achieve. It has not been without its challenges and despite taking huge steps forward, we are not yet breathing a sigh of relief as there is plenty more work to be done before we can be satisfied that the residents of Anopoco, Eticunda, Acuminca, Etinghoure and Ancano are living safely, without the threats of water-borne illnesses, malnutrition, in communities where both men and women are equal and parents do not need to worry about their children surviving to see their next birthday’s. We must not forget that for millions of people, day to day life is not always easy and that many still do not have access to the most basic of resources. With the help of donors like you, the continued hard work of WellFound staff and the residents of the villages where we work, we can make a difference. Together we can change, and ultimately save, lives.