Water, Health & Women's Empowerment- Guinea Bissau

With the rainy season come many challenges but WellFound’s staff and residents of Anopoco, Eticunda, Acuminca, Etinghoure and Ancano have all been pitching in and working together to make sure progress does not stop, despite the intense rains. In the last month, a total of 17 latrines were built in Bithele alone, which, along with education on sanitation, will decrease the incidences of life threatening disease and infection. Several boreholes have been completed for new wells and various village market gardens yielded their first harvests of the season.

As the projects progress and WellFound’s staff as well as people in the villages are working hard, we thought that we would take this time to let you know what makes WellFound’s approach sustainable, long lasting and ultimately, worthwhile.

At WellFound we often get asked “What makes WellFound different from other water charities? How can I choose between all of the organisations supplying clean water to people who need it most? Why should I donate to WellFound?”

It can be confusing when deciding which charity to donate to but there are a few signs you can look for to make sure that your money is going as far as possible towards helping those in need. One of the key cornerstones of WellFound’s work is ensuring that access to water is long lasting and sustainable. Unfortunately, many fail to ensure that access to clean water lasts more than a few of years.

So how does WellFound ensure long lasting and sustainable access to clean and safe water?

By providing communities with four key resources:

1)      High quality wells and pumps which last and are as easy as possible to repair.

2)      Engagement from the very beginning. All residents are encouraged to be fully engaged with all aspects of planning, constructing and implementing all aspects of the programs. This way, communities have complete ownership of the projects.

3)      A “safety net” of advice and support from Wellfound’s experienced staff members who stay in contact and check in with every village for three years after a pump is installed. This means that after three years, we can be confident that communities are fully capable of maintaining resources and access to clean water.

4)      Education and training on well and pump maintenance and repair. Selected young people from every village are taken to a partner vocational school. There they are trained on how to maintain and repair wells and pumps though a mixture of classroom and field-based learning. This means that when wells and pumps inevitably do need repairs, there are local residents who can step in and ensure that their communities can continue to access clean and safe water.

Why do we insist on training people in well and pump maintenance?

Wells and pumps, like any mechanical systems, need maintenance and from to time, to be repaired. If members of a community are not properly trained on pump maintenance, then when the pumps inevitably do need a repair, there is no one around to fix it. Often these communities are extremely remote so finding someone with the knowledge and skills to repair a pump is unlikely. You will find many villages throughout the world with wells which have fallen into disrepair years ago, with residents having no choice but to resort to the only alternative sources of water available, which often contain harmful bacteria and viruses.

WellFound does not stop at water. We view water as a starting point for long term development. In addition to supplying clean water, we also focus on women’s empowerment and gender equality, sustainable agriculture, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, health and natural medicine. Our goal is to ensure positive shifts in community behaviour to allow the benefits of development to be felt through entire communities regardless of age, gender, beliefs or background.

If you donate to WellFound, you can also be certain that 100% of all donation money will be going to the projects in West Africa, with none of it covering our administration or operating costs.

See below pictures from Guinea Bissau showing community-wide meetings; WellFound staff members and local residents all pitching in to install their new water pump and Acuminca's water quality before WellFound installed a new well:

It is rainy season in Guinea Bissau and work has started for community market gardens. We thought that we would take this opportunity to talk about how something as seemingly simple as community market gardens help to tackle some of the root causes which can lock villages in a cycle of poverty. Having a holistic approach which addresses several root issues is most likely to succeed in achieving development which is lasting, meaningful and inclusive for all.

Unemployment is extremely high in Guinea Bissau and most young people can only access seasonal jobs with no stable income. By training women in agriculture, community saving and market garden construction, this increases their skill level and employability. WellFound's market garden training also has a variety of additional benefits. Prior to working with the selected villages, we found that there was very limited access to a balanced diet and proper nutrition. Many of the villages selected by WellFound are extremely remote and are often difficult to farm. This means that malnutirion is extremely common, especailly among women and children. With women being trained in seed preservation and food production, they are able to ensure that they and their families are getting a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables.

When researching and visiting villages we found that women and girls had limited influence over community decisions. By ensuring that local women are the ones in charge of managing and maintaining market gardens, they can become empowered within their communities. Women do not only manage the soil and plants, but also finances and mico saving schemes which ensure that the gardens are properly maintained and that everybody is contributing fairly. Along with education workshops on the value of women in society, when women successfully run market garden and micro saving operations, men quickly realize the value of women in community decision making. This creates a more equal and fair society where everyone's opinions are shared and another half of the working population are able to contribute in a meaningful and effective way.

Once market gardens are up and running successfully, they are able to produce excess vegetables, meaning that the women in charge of running the gardens can sell the additional harvests at market. This additional role of managing sales and finances in the community not only brings in more money but works to further empower women socially as well as financially.

All of this work has far reaching and long lasting effects which meaninguflly improves the lives of many people. From behalf of everybody at WellFound and those living in Anopoco, Eticunda, Acuminca, Etinghoure and Ancano, thank you for your time and support. Every donation, large and small is truly appreciated.