The Problem

Kokoro is located in southwest Burkina Faso, and is home to roughly 16,000 people. It is characterized by extreme poverty and a dry climate that struggles with severe drought nine months of the year. During the three-month rainy season, most households collect rainwater, but in the dry season, women and girls walk 10+ kilometers daily to collect water from rivers or wells. The water sources are infected with organic waste because there are no toilets in the community. These polluted water sources cause painful diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. The open sewage also serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and thus malaria.

The Project

This initiative in Kokoro is an International Needs W.A.S.H. project (water, sanitation, and hygiene) with three primary components:

1. Two boreholes that will provide a sustainable supply of clean water to the residents of Kokoro.
2. Five badly needed latrines.
3. Education for the community on principles of health and sanitation to improve health and reduce water-borne illness.