Supporter diary: Tessa visits Burkina Faso

Tessa says, "Yes, there was extreme poverty...[but] everyone was happy to meet me...as well as incredibly welcoming and hospitable, so it was difficult not to have a constant smile on my face."

Credit: WaterAid / Alex Macro

WaterAid supporter Tessa Nash recently visited the areas of Tenkadogo and Ouagadougo in Burkina Faso. Here she reflects on what she saw and the people she met during her trip.

Imagine living in England 150 years ago, with no sanitation or access to clean water; where the average life expectancy is 47 years and one in five children die before their fifth birthday.

This is what life is still like in Burkina Faso, West Africa, the second poorest country in the world, where many people have nowhere to go to the toilet and have to walk miles to collect water that isn't clean or safe.

I have just returned from Burkina Faso with WaterAid, a charity committed to providing clean water and sanitation to some of the poorest people in the world.

Before I went, I was preparing myself for a visit that I thought would be extremely depressing; but how wrong I was.

Yes, there was extreme poverty and I don't want to undermine this. However, everyone was happy to meet me and the rest of the group, as well as incredibly welcoming and hospitable, so it was difficult not to have a constant smile on my face.

What became obvious over the course of the visit was that for people who have absolutely nothing, life is about basic needs: having food and water, and being healthy.

This trip opened my eyes to how unimportant all the 'stuff' we fill our lives with is in the grand scheme of things.

Working for for a water company in England myself, I'm always telling people about how Britain has outstanding drinking water, but before this visit it didn't mean an awful lot to me.

Tessa lending a hand in Burkina Faso.

Credit: WaterAid / Alex Macro

We take for granted being able to go to the toilet, take a shower and have a cup of tea any time we want. Being able to see for myself how difficult life is for people who can't do these things made me realise that although we pay a lot for our water, without it our lives would be entirely different.

The main problem in Burkina Faso is that people had not made the link between poor sanitation and having an upset tummy or diarrhoea. This means that the problem cannot be solved by charities just building wells and latrines, because people won't know why they need to use them or keep them clean and safe.

This is where WaterAid's approach really impressed me. Although they help poor communities install wells and latrines, an equally important part of WaterAid's work is hygiene education.

Working with local organisations, WaterAid trains people in villages to become 'hygienists', whose role it is to tell their friends and family about sanitation and clean water. This way, everyone gets the message, and most importantly it's from someone they know and not a stranger.

Clean water and sanitation is the basis for all economic and social improvement. Without it we couldn't go to work, go to school or lead fit and healthy lives. Surely it is a basic human right for everyone to have these needs met?

See firsthand what Tessa saw in Burkina Faso

In this television report, presenter Natasha Stillwell exposes the state of water and sanitation in Burkina Faso, how it impacts Burkinabés' lives and some of the low-cost, sustainable solutions that WaterAid is helping to implement.