Humanitarian and Development
Place
Maroantsetra (province of Toamasina), Madagascar
Sponsor
Philippe Surjous
Grant(s)
25 000 € to the Selection Committee at 2008/03/26
Project leader
Rotary Club of Rennes
« The Rotary Club of Rennes has been active in Madagascar since 2000, particularly in the area of water. It is allied with the association "Amitiés Madagascar Bretagne", which has initiated several projects in this area, and which regularly reviews the achievements and tracks the costs of these projects. »
Philippe Surjous
For the inhabitants of the urban commune of Maroantsetra (departement of Toamasin in Madagascar), drinking water is something that is virtually out of reach. Access to water is only available via shallow family wells. Yet since the soil is very sandy, the rainwater seeps down easily, dragging along the waste that lies on the surface.
This means that the shallow water table is far from being able to offer a quality water, and this generates a large number of waterborne diseases.
The search for pure water
Several hygiene awareness raising campaigns have been conducted among the population, teaching them in particular how to use products to treat the water before consumption. Yet the adoption of this practice is an uphill battle.
To find another answer to this permanent health menace, the Rotary Club of Rennes, which has been working for several years in Madagascar with another association, Amitiés Madagascar Bretagne, has started a campaign to drill deeper wells, to reach the unsoiled aquifers.
Twenty new wells will thus be sunk in the coming months in 10 villages of the commune. A first step toward the eradication of a large number of recurrent diseases.