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Empowering Women Through Access to Water

New water cisterns give Senegalese farmers a new outlook

Duration 4m32s

Edit Version International

Video Type Video News Release (VNR)

Date 10/22/2018

File size 490.13 MB

Unique ID UF2T3L

All editorial uses permitted

Production details and shotlist

UNFAO Source FAO Video

Shotlist 1. Farmer tapping water at cistern

2. Woman getting water from the cistern

3. Various tracking shot of dry land

4. Woman carrying water bucket on top of her head in garden

5. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Mboya Ka, farmer in Douli, Senegal: “We were thirsty all the time. We did not even think about washing ourselves or doing laundry. Even to feed ourselves, there was not enough to cook. Even to feed ourselves, there was not enough to cook. Even to feed ourselves, there was not enough to cook. Soon after lunch, you would go again to fetch water with the carts.”

6. Woman watering her garden with watering pot

7. Wide of field

8. Farmer herding her cows

9. Calf drinking milk

10. A woman working in garden

11. Various women working in garden

12. Girl in the garden

13. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Mairam Cissé, farmer in Dabali, Senegal: “We used to face huge challenges when the new school year started, especially for the purchase of our children’s school supplies. As the new school year starts before the main harvest season, often women didn’t have the money for school expenses.”

14. Girls carrying water bucket in garden

15. Women carrying water buckets in garden

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Coumba Sow, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator (REOWA) Senegal: “One million cisterns for the Sahel is focused on women, because generally, in the Sahel, it’s women who have the burden of fetching water.

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Coumba Sow, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator (REOWA) Senegal: “Very often, they do more than 10km to find water and 10 km to come back home with their children. And when they do so, the children don’t go to school because they have to help their mothers.

18. Woman unlocking a door to access water from the cistern

19. Water bucket filling up with water at cistern

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Coumba Sow, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator (REOWA) Senegal, “In Senegal we have just officially launched the project with the government. Our plan in the next 3 years is to support 10,000 women to get access to water through the cisterns.”

21. Various women getting water from the cistern

22. Cistern

23. Woman getting water from the cistern

24. Woman watering common garden

25. Children drinking water

26. Girl drinking water

27. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Amadou Dioulde KA, farmer in Douli, Senegal: “We have learned a lot of things, how to build a cistern, lay the foundation, cut the wood for the construction. They taught us everything.”

28. Growing nutritious seeds

29. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Rokhy SOW, NGO ‘Symbiose Senegal’, Kaoloack, Senegal: “Concerning organic market gardening, we do a lot of activities to strengthen women’s capacities.”

30. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Rokhy SOW, NGO ‘Symbiose Senegal’, Kaoloack, Senegal, “ This way we can develop the most suitable and efficient strategy for them to have enough income and a good production which is nutritious and doesn’t harm the environment.”

31. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Pola Ka, grandon of Mboya Ka, Douli, Senegal: “We used to cook rice in salt water with oil. Now we have vegetables too.

32. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Pola Ka, grandon of Mboya Ka, Douli, Senegal, “Tomato, cabage, eggplant and salad grown in the garden are all good for me.

33. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Pola Ka, grandon of Mboya Ka, Douli, Senegal, “When I am not going to school, I fetch straw or take the animals to graze.”

34. SOUNDBITE (WOLOF) Mairam Cissé, farmer in Dabali, Senegal, saying: “The money I earn from selling vegetables, allows me to support myself and pay for part of my children’s school.”

35. Mairam Cissé getting water at cistern

36. Mid of woman

37. Okra in hands, pan to a girl

Ends

Script The Sahel region is increasingly affected by severe droughts and desertification due to climate change. Irrigation remains undeveloped.

Despite these challenges, 70% of people in the Sahel rely on agriculture to grow food and make a living.

“We were thirsty all the time. We did not even think about washing ourselves or doing laundry. Even to feed ourselves, there was not enough to cook. Even to feed ourselves, there was not enough to cook. Even to feed ourselves, there was not enough to cook. Soon after lunch, you would go again to fetch water with the carts, ” said Mboya Ka, a farmer in Douli.

In Senegal, water truly means life. Farmers and herder heavily depend on rainfall to water their crops and rear their animals. But rainfalls are low and irregular even in the rainy season from July to October. This means that farmers and herder struggle to make ends meet.

Mairam Cissé, a farmer in Dabali said “We used to face huge challenges when the new school year started, especially for the purchase of our children’s school supplies. As the new school year starts before the main harvest season, often women didn’t have the money for school expenses.“

Now people’s life have changed because of a new water-gathering and storage system put in place through FAO’s “1 million cisterns for the Sahel” programme, which focuses on vulnerable rural communities in arid and semi-arid regions of five countries affected by climate shocks.

Inspired by a similar programme implemented in Brazil through its “Fome Zero” programme, this initiative aims to give access to safe drinking water to millions of people across the Sahel. The idea is to improve families’ lives on a number of levels. The programme helps families to increase what they grow for nutrition and for income, helps to improve health and, ultimately, builds the resilience of millions of families, especially women.

“One million cisterns for the Sahel is focused on women, because generally, in the Sahel, it’s women who have the burden of fetching water. Very often, they do more than 10km to find water and 10 km to come back home with their children. And when they do so, the children don’t go to school because they have to help their mothers. In Senegal we have just officially launched the project with the government. Our plan in the next 3 years is to support 10,000 women to get access to water through the cisterns, ” said Coumba Sow, FAO Regional Sub-Regional Coordinator (REOWA) in Senegal.

The programme helps women and farmers harvest and store rainwater. It provides clean drinking water and water to grow food in arid areas for millions of people. It enables women to grow more vegetables and have more food for their families.

“We have learned a lot of things, how to build a cistern, lay the foundation, cut the wood for the construction. They taught us everything, ” said Amadou Dioulde Ka, a farmer in Douli.

Local partners train the communities in climate-smart agriculture.

“Concerning organic market gardening, we do a lot of activities to strengthen women’s capacities. This way we can develop the most suitable and efficient strategy for them to have enough income and a good production which is nutritious and doesn’t harm the environment,” said Rokhy Sow, NGO ‘Symbiose Senegal’ in Kaolack.

“We used to cook rice in salt water with oil. Now we have vegetables too. Tomato, cabage, eggplant and salad grown in the garden are all good for me. When I am not going to school, I fetch straw or take the animals to graze, ”said Pola Ka, the grandson of Mboya Ka, Diouli.

“The money I earn from selling vegetables, allows me to support myself and pay for part of my children’s school, ”said Mairam Cissé.

By investing in people’s livelihoods, FAO is empowering them to contribute to a Zero Hunger future.

Ends

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Empowering Women Through Access to Water

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