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This series of photos (click here )is about 800 women in the village of Thien, which is about 45 minutes from Markala over a dirt path (which we drove a car on). Because of climate changes, there is significantly less water now than in past years. The Sahara Desert is encroaching from the north. It used to be that water would run in the local stream all year, and this water would serve to irrigate the vegetable gardens. Now the stream runs dry for about 5 months, and the women (not men) are digging holes in the ground as deep as 25' in order to get to water in order to grow their food. Not only is the hole dug, but a ramp must also be planned and dug so the women can walk down to the water with 2 gourds, fill the gourds, and carry the water some distance to the plants to be watered. Often times, the women have babies on their backs while they do this work.
They say that now, the old women cannot work because the carrying of the water up the ramp is too difficult. Also, the young women don't work because the work is not lucrative enough. They often go to the work in the bigger towns in the region, and all to often return with HIV.
The women are asking for funding and project assistance to have wells dug and have foot powered pumps provided in order to help them get water. Solar powered pumps are too expensive for them. I am working with a local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called CADIBA on a project application for this funding. |
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