Water of life
By Joelma Pereira, Communications specialist for LCB crisis
One-year-old Aicha is one of 1.4 million vulnerable children in the forgotten Lake Chad Basin crisis, who need safe water.
Aichatou, 30, is Aicha’s mother. She was forced to flee her village with her seven children due to Boko Haram attacks. They’re staying in a settlement along with others forced from their homes:
“My village is near a river and if you stand by its shore, you can see the town of Damasak. On the days of the attacks, you could see bullets and rockets flying towards our village from Damasak. After several attacks, our village became a very insecure place, so my husband decided that we should leave.
“Back home I used to sell, ‘beigne’ [local donut] every morning in front of my house, this gave me a profit of US $2.6 a day. My husband had a big land where, he farmed pepper which he would then sell at the local market. We were not rich, but our work brought in enough to make ends meet,” adds Aichatou, holding little Aicha tightly.
“Life was very difficult in the settlement when we arrived, because my children and I used to fall ill with diarrhoea and malaria all the time, particularly my little Aicha. I used to walk three kilometres to fetch water, three times a day and it wasn’t free. I had to pay $ 0.5 USD for 25 litres. Although I knew that the water wasn’t safe, I had no choice, because there was no other way to get water.
“After walking six kilometres, I used to feel very tired and yet I had to cook, do the washing up, clean the tent, and with the remaining water wash the children and drink. In the past, Aicha only bathed once in two days.”
According to Aichatou, the lack of safe water had serious consequences for her children’s health, but World Vision’s arrival has changed things. We’ve helped 570 families in the settlement with a borehole, 70 new emergency latrines and committees for water management and hygiene in the settlement.
Aichatou’s family now has 150 litres of free water per day. And she has time to look after little Aicha:
“Today I have time to fetch water, cook, clean, wash the children and to rest. My baby’s health has improved. I don’t have to go with her to the health centre anymore.”
We believe the global community must urgently prioritise clean water access for families in the Lake Chad Basin area, to avert disease outbreaks and deepening malnutrition.