Groundwater project in Gashena

This project by PBF is a reminder of the water scarcity in Africa and above all a catastrophic situation that is getting worse and worse. As populations there continue to grow and the climate crisis robs the continent of this vital resource, it is projected that by 2025 nearly 230 million Africans will face water scarcity and up to 460 million will live in water-stressed areas. That is more people than live in the entire European Union. For us this is almost unimaginable.

Here are some things to keep in mind about water scarcity:

• 1 in 3 Africans are affected by water scarcity.
• 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to a basic supply of drinking water.

Ashenafi, our PBF project manager, writes about the specific situation:
Many people lose their lives here because of contaminated water. We lack purified water and sanitary facilities. The goal of PBF (Emmanuel Clinic) is to achieve verifiable and sustainable improvements in the health sector.

Our previous three wells using water from groundwater are still serving the community for two and seven years respectively. Now we have created two more wells in two different larger areas (Kebele). Previously, people had to carry water from afar with great difficulty. 140 and 150 families (i.e., 290 own households) benefit directly from these two projects. In addition, animal drinking troughs for livestock farming were built at both plants. On April 19, 2023, the wells were inaugurated in the presence of authorities, those responsible for maintenance and PBF initiators.