Cameroon is one of the poorest countries in Africa, with 17% of the population living on less than 50p a day. And 66% of the rural population do not have adequate access to clean water.

Having better access to clean water goes a long way in helping communities work their way out of poverty. It also helps to minimise the amount of children who miss school through serious illness and disease by providing them with a water supply that’s safe to drink. However many children already suffer from cholera, typhoid or dysentery, which is often caused by drinking unsafe water. Girls in particular also miss a lot of school because they have to trek many miles to fetch water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing.

How you can help

For progress to be made we need to raise £26,240 to build four new wells and boreholes with hand pumps in Bamenda, Bertoua, Biteng and Garoua.

This will provide the materials, tools and training needed for families to build the wells or boreholes so their children can have immediate access to a safe, clean supply of water. Plan staff are helping communities set up water committees which look after the construction of the wells and boreholes, from the planning stage right through to buying the building materials and implementing the project. The committees are also trained to repair and maintain the hand pumps to keep them in full working order. And children are encouraged to take part by educating their families and communities about the importance of hygiene. They carry out demonstrations on how to wash hands properly and other personal hygiene practices.

Plan firmly believes that all children have a right to a clean supply of water to protect their health and their future. All our work involves many people at all sorts of levels, to make sure projects such as building wells and digging boreholes happen as effectively as possible. This is just one of the many projects within Plan’s wider health programme, which includes working closely with government and non-governmental organisations at both community and national levels. With your support, this project can take those first important steps to making a difference.