This project is born in collaboration between TERREDELSUD and the MAGIS (Movement and Action of the Italian Jesuits for the Development). The objective is that to contribute to the improvement of the conditions of life of the families that reside in the communities object of the intervention, because can live a satisfactory qualitatively and dignified life that realize her to the manifold dimensions inside the reality of their natural environment and that allow they to reduce in meaningful way the exodus of the young people from the countries. 

Whoever would like to have more information or to contribute in any way can write to nelmondo@terredelsud.org and receive all the necessary information.

Geography and politics   

Republic of the Burkina Faso 

Burkina Faso  

Surface: 274,471 Km² 
Inhabitants: 12,272,000 (2001 estimate) 
Density: 45 inhabitants/Km² 
Form of government: Presidential republic 
Capital: Ouagadougou (824,000 inhabitants.) 
Other cities: Bobo Dioulasso 250,000 inhabitants; Koudougou 55,000 inhabitants. 
Ethnic groups: Mossi 48%, Mande 17%, Fulbe 10%, Tuaregh and others 25% 
Bordering countries: Mali to the northwest, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin to the South, Niger to the East
Principal mountains: Pic de Nakourou 749 m 
Principal rivers: Black Volta 800 Km (the Burkina Faso stretch, total 1,600 Km) 
Climate: Tropical - arid 
Language: French (official), ethnic dialects 
Religion: Animist 65%, Moslem 25%, Christian 10% 
Coin: CFA Franc 

The territory: 
It is characterized by great arid rural extensions where the problem of water resources represents the principal problem, both from a human point of view and from an agricultural one. 

TITLE: 
Water at Dissin 

Origins of the initiative 

This project is part of a group of activities chosen by the Pastor of the dioceses of Burkinabe: "Bread and the Word to everybody and for all". These activities undertake to provide an integral promotion of man, with the help of local committees. Every parish committee is given some priorities in various sectors to which the pastoral agents and the population dedicate themselves, with the support of some external collaborator. 
In general the priorities have been: 
- the health of mothers-to-be and infants
- literacy 
- Nutrition through projects in the agricultural field, 
- the activation and training of pilot groups 
- the availability of drinkable water through wells and "barragens" in the villages. 

Nevertheless, the shortage of the economic resources and the environmental difficulties make the development of some initiatives very slow. These range from those in the field to the supplying of water that, far from being satisfactory due to the shortage of the existing active wells, is still a problem in most of the villages, with the consequent effects both in the sanitary-nutritional sector and in the productive-agricultural one. 
MAGIS has actively collaborated for over fifteen years with local organizations for the scholastic support of minors in schools of compulsory education, and in some cases with the opening of well shafts for the supply of water in various towns in the provinces of Ioba, Diebougou, Gaoua, Kampti, and Dano for the Southwest region of the Country. 

Description of the Initiative: 

1. At the start of the initiative, a geological study of the area will be made to identify the appropriate centres for the opening of the wells. 
2. Contemporarily young people are selected for the mechanics course and they are sent to the Centre Sainte Famille at - Saaba - Ouagadougou. Every course will enfold using a regular system of internships lasting 2 weeks. The trainees have to assist and collaborate with the construction of the pumps at the Centre, and with their assemblage in the local centres, understanding the way they function from the start. At the end of the course, every pupil will be given a tool-box with the equipment necessary for the maintenance of the pumps. 
3. After the geological study has been completed, 40 well shafts will be drilled and their walls covered.
4. When the well shafts have been completed, the project proceeds with the construction in cement of the carrying shaft and the application of the pumps for the pumping of the water. 
5. Following this, the external area is arranged so that the surrounding ground and the well are protected to avoid indirect contaminations of the water table. Then channels are built to carry the water 20-50 metres away, where it is collected in simple tanks built for this purpose and drawn for horticultural uses and as drinking-water for animals. 

General aims of the Project: 

To supply water to the population of Dissin in order to collaborate to the improvement of the hygienic-sanitary, nutritional and economic conditions of the population involved in the intervention, promoting the capacity of autonomous management of the recipients of the aid. 

Specific aim of the project: 
To guarantee the availability of water and: 
- to assure the correct use of the water got from the wells, both for domestic use and for an 
agricultural and zootechnical one. 
- to favour the maintenance and the functionality of the pumps through constant maintenance 
- to improve the basic hygienic, sanitary and nutritional knowledge of the population involved in 
the initiative 
-to develop agricultural production in order to ensure the safety of the food of the local 
population.