Water for Guinea, Africa A Clean Water Quest with UNICEF USA
I will never forget the ocherous color that filled every village’s landscape. The dust particles from Bauxite, a precious amorphous clay rock covered every inch of land. It stained the hands of every child grasping to touch mine. Our processional started as we exited our all-terrain UNICEF vehicles. The air was dry and dusty but filled with cheer. I looked up to see hundreds, if not thousands of villagers lined up to catch a glimpse of us. “Viva UNICEF, Viva UNICEF!”, was chanted by every child. Drums were playing, songs being sung and a true celebration was taking place simply to rejoice the most basic of human needs: CLEAN WATER. As I walked, I saw one gorgeous face after another. There were smiles that would melt any heart and pure happiness that can only emerge from the innocence of childhood. In that moment, I also felt truly happy and gratitude filled my soul.
In December of 2019, I had the distinct pleasure to go on a field visit with UNICEF USA to Guinea, Africa. The mission was to see the initiatives established by UNICEF to provide life-saving clean water. In the villages of Guinea, life is still relatively primitive. We learned of populations that send their women and girls to fetch water from polluted lakes and rivers daily. The ramifications of this include water-borne diseases, increased maternal-fetal mortality, cervical spine disease and markedly reduced opportunities for girls to attend school which then leads to child marriage. Coupled with the lack of clean water comes the need for education in sanitation and health. Some of the villages still openly defecate and imperative actions such as hand-washing are not practiced.
This is where UNICEF swoops in as a hero to these villagers, particularly the children. They have the expertise on the ground to build manual boreholes. This is the cleanest and most effective way to retrieve water trapped below the Earth’s surface. The best part is, the water supply is endless. We also had the chance to see a technologically advanced solar-powered water system. These systems harness solar energy to power the pump and transfer 5000 gallons of water to reservoirs that can later be pumped to any area in the village. The result is running water to schools, medical clinics and homes! Since its inception, Water For Guinea has provided clean water to over 83,677 people. After Phase 2, it will benefit at least 210,148 more. UNICEF’s strong relationships with the local governments augment its efforts by deploying government dollars and employees to work on all of these projects. On top of it all, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene ) specialists go on the field to these villages to teach basic sanitation and hygiene practices which further the positive results from the clean water-producing boreholes.
A truly remarkable humanitarian effort to provide a basic necessity we all take for granted daily, I applaud UNICEF for leading the way. In my eyes, the UNICEF staff in Guinea should be counted as some of the greatest altruists the world has seen. The people of Guinea left a lasting impression on my heart and I vowed to fight for them until all 4 million can drink a tall, sparkling clean glass of water.
To learn more about this program or to donate please visit: www.unicefusa.org/waterforguinea.
Photo Credit | Moe Mazboudi Photography for UNICEF
