For some villages, boreholes are a lifeline, providing a clean and reliable water source. However, boreholes do break down, and the cost of repair is often overwhelming, sometimes leaving villages without water for as much as six months.
Working with USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP), one local mayor in Maradi engineered a solution. Instead of having one village responsible for finding funds to fix their own water supply, he and the FFP representatives worked with other villages to open a communal account. Each community makes regular, small deposits to pay for repairs needed by any of the participating villages. A committee oversees the account to ensure it is used appropriately. And, the village leaders hired a technician who maintains the boreholes and makes preventive repairs.
Thanks to this collective problem-solving, the villages have water, agriculture is thriving, and vulnerable families have more access to food. This story is just one reason for us to say, Le Niger se Lève!
