The situation at schools in Mali has been dangerous for years. Already before the ongoing security crisis, starting with armed conflicts in 2012, there was a huge need for investment in the buildings and their interior. In the meantime the status has worsened due to destruction and neglect. According to the ministry of education, many sites are missing appropriate water sources, toilets and hand washing basins. The students and their teachers don’t have enough secure drinking water and are forced to relieve themselves in the open.
Wells will be repaired and built
Our analysis of needs on the project site confirmed our diagnosis: In 31 visited schools in the communes of Gounzoureye and Soni Ali Ber only two wells and pumps are working, 16 are damaged and in 13 schools a water infrastructure doesn’t even exist. Nearly everywhere toilets are missing. The hygiene standards are very low.
Our project will fix the defect. That’s why new well holes will be drilled and the wells be equipped with hand pumps. Elsewhere drilling holes and pumps will be reconstructed. For this kind of work a regional specialized company will be chosen in a tendering procedure. All construction work is taking place in close coordination with the regional water authorities, they will handle the cataloguing and the maintenance of the drilling wells
Masons will take on the toilet construction
In contradiction to the well construction done by experts, the other activities in this project shall be done by local workers. We want to create working/income possibilities for as many people as possible besides the original goal of the project.
In the villages where the 31 schools are located, one person will be chosen and trained as a mason. In the further education the participants are constructing a demonstration toilet in one of the schools, furthermore there will be a demonstrative rehabilitation of a drilling well and the rehabilitation of an already existing infiltration well. arche noVa supervises the material, quality and time table of the construction in accordance with the determined designs and standards. Then the planned building work will take place at each school. Among other things 24 new toilet blocks with 3 toilets each will be built. 12 further blocks will be rehabilitated.
It is also intended that each school receives three hand washing basins in total, each for the boy and girl toilets and one for the schoolyard. Extensive schooling measures on the topics of hygiene and health care are finalizing the project.
Enormous need for investments in the region of Gao
How badly needed the investment in WASH at schools in the region really is, shows a short look in the statistics of UN OCHA. According to it, 42 percent of the inhabitance living in Gao have no access to drinking water. Eight percent are affected by regular water scarcity. On the border to the Sahara desert and the fertile river valley of Niger the region is ever since facing big climatic and ecologic challenges. Due to the armed conflict wide parts of the infrastructure have been destroyed. Also the ongoing political crisis and the uncertain security situation have led to the standstill of the whole local economy.
With a Human Development Index of 0.442, Mali is ranked 175th and counted to one of the poorest countries on earth. The life expectancy is around 58.5 years. The state, facing the harshest crisis of his existence, is not able to cover the need for development without international, technical and financial support.
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