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OUR PROGRAMS
WATER IS LIFE!
The Water is Life! project will provide potable water to communities in Nigeria who currently do not have access. This is done through the installation of a fully automated industrial grade borehole to communities with a minimum population of 3000 completely free of charge.
Water is sourced from an 180m deep borehole using an electric pump system that pumps the water to 2 large 10,000 liter reservoirs from which it is distributed to 8 standing faucets. The community is also gifted an electric generator to work the pump. We work with community leaders to ensure adequate training is provided for proper care and maintenance of all equipment. The community is then responsible for the purchase of fuel to power the generator. To date every borehole we have donated is still in working order!
Our engineering and building partner on all of our borehole installations are Habibu Engineering LTD of Abuja. They are one of the best construction firms in Nigeria with over 40 years of business. With them we are assured all of our installations are done with the utmost professionalism and with the best of equipment to ensure the longevity of the borehole and the cleanliness of the water.
Every borehole we place costs 2.8 million Neira or $6000 USD. We have installed 27 boreholes since our inception, spending over 54 million Neira or $155,000 USD to date!
For a full list of all the villages and communities we have placed boreholes in so far click here.
Nigeria is so rich in water resources that many of its 36 states are named after rivers. In addition to surface water found in nearly every part of the country, there's also plenty to be found underground. The country has 215 cubic kilometers a year of available surface water.
One would imagine that Nigerians have plenty of clean water to drink.
But this isn’t the case. In fact, only 19% of Nigeria’s population has access to safe drinking water. Although 67% of people have basic water supply, access is uneven. In cities, 82% of people have a basic supply. In rural areas, only 54% do.
Pollution is another major cause of water scarcity in Nigeria. It’s common to see waste dumped in rivers and streams. In cities, storm water carries pollutants which contaminate water resources. This is in addition to open defecation practices by the population.
Pollution has led to high levels of toxic chemicals such as metals and pesticides being reported in Nigeria’s water resources.
Underground water is also being polluted through seepage from waste dump sites. This is a major health risk.
Today, the overwhelming majority of 96.3 per cent of households in Nigeria drink water contaminated by feces and other polluted substances such as Escherichia coli (E.coli). Leading to typhoid fever, diarrhea and dysentery. As a result 150,000 children die every year from water related diseases in Nigeria.
In all, water may be the most important and impactful aspect of life in Nigeria that is unfortunately neglected. This needs to change.
Along with providing with clean potable water, the next stage of our work is educating the population at large in Nigeria on a host of issues directly affecting them, such as pollution, health, hygiene, proper sanitation and the importance of keeping a clean environment. This will help to make sure that the boreholes we put in place are not in vain. As the communities involved will know to respect and value their water sources. We will work to develop relationships and create programs with federal, state and local government agencies as well as other non-profits and non-governmental agencies. Such an example is our work with “Future Assured” the foundation of the wife of the president of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, for which we donated 3 boreholes. The Bwari area council of Abuja and its council chairman the Hon. Musa Dikko and our cooperation the minister of women's affairs Dame Pauline Tallen.
Bio loos for better health
It is no secret that Nigeria lacks proper sanitation. In fact Nigeria is the worst country in Africa when it comes to urban sanitation access. And with open defecation rates at 28.5 per cent, this poses grave public health risks.
Open defecation is a serious challenge in Nigeria with 130 million not having access to adequate sanitation. This is so because many homes, schools, public buildings and business complexes are built with few or no toilet facilities. A visit to many rural communities will reveal that most of them indulge in open defecation as their homes are built without even a pit latrine.
Apart from weakening children through frequent diarrhea, exposure to open defecation, experts say, also makes them susceptible to conditions such as stunting and malnutrition. It, in addition, increases the risk of polio infection, especially as the fecal-oral route is seen as an important transmission pathway. It is not surprising that Nigeria has found it extremely difficult to eliminate polio despite years of efforts.
Beyond the diseases associated with open defecation, there are also other dangers such as attacks by snakes or other wild animals while defecating in the wild. Women could also be assaulted or even raped in the process. In places where there may be no bush for cover, people have to bear the inconvenience of waiting until nightfall to defecate in the open. In some other situations, people defecate in containers inside their homes and only get rid of the excrement during the night.
While, in rural areas, the availability of bushes facilitates the practice of open defecation, in cities, feces are disposed of sometimes in public places. For instance, in certain areas of Lagos, people go to the rail tracks at night to defecate, while others approach any refuse dump to do so. Flies easily perch on these fecal discharges and bring back with them disease-causing microbes, which are later passed on to humans.
We will install Bio-Digester toilet system originally pioneered in India to combat their own serious problem of open defecation. At the heart of the ‘bio-digester’ technology is a cocktail of bacteria,when added to the septic tanks, this suspension speeds up degradation of bio-waste. The process converts septic tanks into ‘bio-tanks’ that do not contaminate groundwater. The recycled water can be used watering fields and or farms and for other non-potable use.
The bio-digester tank is a cylindrical structure with the provision of inlet for human waste and outlet for bio gas, maintained at a temperature of 5-30 degree C. Degradation occurs through microbial reaction which converts it into bio gas. On the basis of dry waste weight, 90% of the solid waste is reduced. The gaseous effluent (bio-gas) is continuously let off to the atmosphere. Bio Gas can be used for various energy incentive activities like cooking water and room heating. Liquid effluent can be drained to any surface or soak pit with out any environmental hazards. A bio-digester is totally maintenance free and 100% continuous process, there is no need of after installation service. Every facility will cost 500,000 Neira or $1500 USD. Donate now and help communities and safeguard our environment.
