Water, Health & Women's Empowerment- Guinea Bissau

During the rainy season in Guinea-Bissau, women often face numerous challenges as they work to sustain their livelihoods. The season brings heavy rainfall, which can lead to flooding, soil erosion, and other environmental issues that complicate their daily tasks. Women, who play a central role in agriculture, particularly in small-scale farming and market gardening, must navigate these challenges to provide for their families.

Heavy rains can lead to waterlogged fields, making it difficult for women to work and maintain their crops. This can result in crop damage, reduced yields, and even total crop loss, directly affecting their food security and income. The rains can also cause soil erosion, degrading land quality. Poor soil health makes it harder for women to grow crops, requiring additional effort to amend the soil and protect it from further degradation.

Transportation is another challenge, as heavy rains can wash away roads and make paths muddy and impassable. This limits women's access to markets where they sell their produce, leading to potential income loss. The rainy season also brings an increase in waterborne diseases like malaria and cholera, which disproportionately affect women and children. The additional health burdens can limit women's ability to work and provide for their families. Additionally, women must balance agricultural work with household responsibilities, such as fetching water and caring for children, which becomes more strenuous during the rainy season.

WellFound, an organization focused on water and sanitation, helps alleviate these challenges by supporting women in Guinea-Bissau with sustainable market gardening initiatives. Their programs focus on training and education, providing women with knowledge on sustainable agricultural practices that are resilient to heavy rainfall, such as soil conservation techniques, crop diversification, and the use of organic fertilizers. They also help women build water management systems, like rainwater harvesting and drainage systems, to reduce the impact of flooding and ensure a consistent water supply for irrigation during dry spells.

In addition, WellFound facilitates access to tools, seeds, and other resources to help women cultivate gardens that can withstand the rainy season's challenges. They also connect women to local and regional markets, helping them sell their produce more effectively and maintain their income even during difficult seasons.

Through these interventions, WellFound helps women in Guinea-Bissau maintain and improve their livelihoods despite the difficulties posed by the rainy season, promoting both economic empowerment and food security.