Water - the gift of life - for children in Darfur

10 new clean water pumps have been completed in Kids for Kids villages! We can hardly believe it - and want to thank you so much for your help in making this possible. Just think of all the people in these villages that will have water close by through the hot summer months. Children will not have to walk for miles across the desert to fetch water, and our goats and donkeys will have water to drink as well. 

The 10 Handpumps have been built in Shawat Maki, Aefin, Mireikhis, Alsahil, Hillat Minair, Kamala kira, Kerati, Hillat Adam Bakhit, Um Keddada, and Deshma Villages.

One of the largest aquifers in Africa is under Darfur, but villagers, whose annual income can be as little as £25, cannot afford to pay for drilling. Last month the Sudanese Pound was de-valued, so that £25 annual income is now worth only £9 - can you imagine? This is why our water pumps are so important - giving villagers access to the clean water which is right under where they are living. Our water pumps not only provide clean water, they also reduce illness, allow children to go to school, and not walk for miles each day, give families time to work and earn an income, help animals stay healthy, and where the water source is plentiful, enable some villages to grow vegetables for the first time ever! Just take a moment to think about how clean water is changing the lives of an entire village.

However, we must plan ahead, and 2018 is already looking like just about the most challenging year we will ever have had to face. As you know, people survive by what they can grow in Darfur, but Darfur is at the forefront of Global Warming. Famine Disaster Relief have warned that many areas are in ‘crisis’ because of failed harvest. Not a single aid agency has responded to this news, so we absolutely must. We have to think about all those villages that will not have any clean water this summer. We have to do something as soon as possible.

In order to plan for the coming year we need to know how much money we have to spend on clean water, so please give now if you are able! There are so many more people to help, so please spread the work of Kids for Kids to your friends and families. As you know, we do not advertise so it is up to you please to find new supporters for us! If we all work together we will be able to achieve so much more. Thank you.

We are beyond delighted to announce that thanks to your help, we have completed construction on our Water Yard at the Village of Kulkul! You may remember we started construction in 2015 and so it is absolutely brilliant to have this up and running. This water yard is providing for over 5,000 people from multiple surrounding villages who were previously walking up to 7 hours each day just to reach water. When we say they were walking hours to reach 'water', this is not fresh and clean drinking water. People in Kulkul and villages around were taking water from unprotected ponds and wells, water that is not clean, and that animals also use. The dam, about 10km away, broke down and there was a real water shortage in Kulkul. The water yard with its submersible pump means that people will drink, cook with, wash clothes in, and bathe in fresh water that is not a risk of infection. The water committee in the village has been trained in how to run the generator so that any breakdown can be repaired, and the pump does not sit idle.

This is Naima with her son, Gamar, visiting the water yard at Kulkul. Naima has 8 children- 3 boys and 5 girls, with 4 of her children under the age of 5. Before the Kulkul Water Yard, Naima and her family were walking to the dam 10km away from their village to get unclean water to drink and bathe with. With this new submersible pump in the village, Naima  says her family is much healthier, as they have pure and safe drinking water.

We are grateful for your help in building this incredible water yard. There are many other villages in Darfur in desperate need of clean water. We hope you will continue to support our efforts to improve both the quantity and quality of rural water supplies in Darfur. Thank you!