Location
Medina Abdoul, Region of Kolda, Senegal
Community Description
Medina Abdoul is a small Pulaar village of 131 people in the Kolda region, which is in the south of Senegal between The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. It is 40 km from Kolda and 3 km from the paved road.
There is a primary school in the village which has one teacher. The nearest health hut is on the road in Kampissa which is 3 km from the village.
The majority of the villagers are subsistence farmers, with several men working as traders and masons.
There is an active women’s group which has successfully started and maintained a group savings program with the help of La Lumiere, a local NGO. All of the women in Medina Abdoul garden throughout the entire year.
During the dry season the women maintain makeshift gardens in the dry seasonal riverbed. During the rainy season when the river rises they build makeshift gardens closer to their homes.
Project Description
This project is to build a well, which will be used as a source of potable water for the village and a year-round source of water for gardening
The community will provide a lot for the garden in the village, and build permanent fencing around it.
The well will be dug by the village men and the masonry work done by the resident mason. It will be dug to a depth of ten meters to ensure year-round access to water. It will be a simple well, incorporating a rope and pulley to retrieve water.
Project funds will be used to pay for materials, including cement, metal support bars, rope, pulley and bucket. In addition, the funds will pay for the transportation of materials as well as the masonry labor required to build the well.
Upon completion of the well the women’s group and the village will assume responsibility for maintaining the well in the years to come.
The women will be able to diversify their vegetable crops and engage in new gardening techniques to increase garden output. In addition, they will be able to begin new agroforestry techniques, such as live fencing. Finally, they will be able to engage in intensive cultivation of the Moringa tree.
Project Impact
This well will provide 131 people with clean water and provide the garden with a reliable source of water to allow year-round gardening, resulting in improved nutrition.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Megan Thompson
Comments
This project will provide a potable water source for the village and water for irrigation of the community garden.
After the completion of the well the women will be able to garden in a secure, continuously maintained area, allowing them to produce vegetables much more reliably and efficiently.
It will add to the health and security of the population at large, as well as providing economic benefit to the participants.
Dollar Amount of Project
$450.00
Donations Collected to Date
$450.00
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Mark Thompson, of Fowlerville, MI, USA, and others.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Megan Thompson of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Megan and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in Senegal.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.