Digging deep

Sawadogo at the old water source – a pond outside of the village which dries up seasonally.

Credit: WaterAid / Suzanne Porter

The villagers of Yaké in rural Burkina Faso spent a year digging a well. Two metres down they hit granite. They carried on digging by hand for another 23 metres but didn't find water. This is the story of their determination.

The villagers heard that WaterAid's partner Eau Solidarité was working nearby. They approached Eau Solidarité to carry out a survey which showed they had been digging in the wrong place. They needed to dig a new well on the other side of the village. Undaunted, Yaké's men took up their pick-axes and started digging once more.

The villagers' story is one of endurance and will power. They eventually found a way to get their water. They just needed a bit of help from WaterAid and its partner to set them on route to achieving their goals. They have now had clean water close to home for a year and are planning to build latrines in the village.

Sawadogo Talato, 45, Vice President of the village water committee, says "The men spent a year digging the first hole. It was such hard work. It also meant the women had to work harder to collect more water during that year because the men used much more.

It was difficult because, before we had the pump in the village, it was a luxury even to have water to quench our thirst.

A lack of water can lead to conflict among people. But since we have had the well here we are so much happier. The women are able to get on with lots of other activities, many of which bring us money. Some of us make millet beer and also bean fritters to sell. All this makes money for the women.

This means we can look after our children better; we can give them better food, or buy them things like shoes which we couldn't do before. The women choose to look after their children better rather than spending the money on themselves. That is the important thing.

All the children go to school. There was a school here before we got the well but often the children had to go to get water in the morning which kept them away from school. When the pond dried up even the little ones walked five kilometres and back again twice a day to get water. And also they didn't have water to make breakfast.

The children used to suffer. But now everything is better and they are much healthier. They used to have lots of diarrhoea when we were using the water from the pond. That has changed now. They don't get diarrhoea any more. Everything has changed."

Interview by Jules Acton, WaterAid's Regional Media and PR Manager.