20/04/2018

The Gift Of Clean Water – A Success Story In The Ouallam District, Niger

Access to clean water can make a remarkable difference, something that the residents of a region in Niger can now enjoy. Three years ago Ahmad Tea, in partnership with Oxfam, embarked on a mission to help a community overcome the odds and improve their basic living conditions by making fresh water available.

WORKING WITH OXFAM

Success in business comes with a responsibility to help the less fortunate at home and abroad. Ahmad Tea is proud to offer assistance through charitable work. This includes issues related to healthcare, education, the environment, and more. Partnering with Oxfam, we recently completed a three-year project in Niger to help a community there gain better access to clean water.

REBUILDING WATER-HOLES & EDUCATING LOCAL AUTHORITIES

To anyone living in a developed country, the idea of not being able drink or bathe in fresh water is almost inconceivable. Those living in the Ouallam district, Niger, however, faced this challenge daily. To remedy this, we set out to rebuild existing water holes. We also educated local authorities on new methods for managing their water systems. Many of the key targets set out at the start of the project were met. A massive success!

IMPROVING ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER

A primary goal was to provide access to a water point within 1km and one-hour travel time. We achieved 100% success across the community including the repair of all breakdowns in infrastructure. Previously, fewer than 60% of residents had access to clean water, now 83% do, surpassing our goal of 80%.

HELPING AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is a vital component of the people’s livelihood here. Without fresh water, they cannot grow crops to sustain a living. With a target of 100% of all farmers to have a working water management system we reached 90%. There is still work to be done here but the increase in available irrigation is already positively affecting many farmers’ lives.

STRIVING FOR SELF-SUFFIENCY

Our aim to build resilience and self-sufficiency to 20 communities, containing almost 20,000 people, has concluded with an incredible success. Now children can go to school clean with fresh water to drink while farmers grow and sell crops to support their families. The lessons learned here will also continue to reverberate throughout the country, as more communities benefit from our work. This promises a brighter future for Niger.