Aquassistance Organization

After the earthquake took place in Indonesia on September 30th (magnitude: 7.6 on Richter scale), Palyja who is the Indonesian partner of Aquassistance, identified two sites where needs in drinkable water were huge.

Thanks to the drinking water produced by Aquassistance’s mobile water treatment plants, 12,000 Haitian children received a daily meal during 11 months in the canteens managed by ACF.

In Hauts de St. Marc, a village situated in the Haitian backcountry, water flows from the 17 tap stands, facilitating the daily life of the 4000 inhabitants.

The new facilities built by Aquassistance – a catch system, a reservoir, a new network and also gabions reinforcing the banks of the river Veuve – have changed the aspect of the village.

On August 11^th, national colours were unfurled in the village for a festive inauguration of these facilities. Besides many village people, some delegations were present, such as that of the French Embassy, the American NGO CHF, different local associations (CASECS, CIDECS and CAEPA) and Aquassistance.

The program of the day began with a visit of the installations guided by the technicians of CAEPA (Drinking Water Management Committee) giving explanations about the water supply network. Afterwards, a lunch offered by CHF and Aquassistance and some speeches took place.

It’s a consistent project that ends, since it lasted 6 years, involved 13 Aquassistance members and cost € 300 000.

Many thanks to the city of Paris and the Foundation “Suez Environnement - Eau pour tous” for their financial backing.

During his visit to Paris on 2009 July 3^rd, Sanjit Bunker Roy, founder of the Barefoot College met the Executive Secretary of Aquassistance, Jean-Claude Clermont, to examine how both NGOs could cooperate in the near future. Joint actions in Africa could be seen around rainwater harvesting for drinking water, use of solar energy and involvement of people in their own development through education. Both organizations could fertilize their experiences in West Africa (Mauritania, Senegal, Benin, Mali, etc.) even their technical and sociological approaches are quite different.

Bunker Roy has received on July 2^nd at the Institut de France, from the hands of Bernard Guirkinger, head of Suez Environnement, the 2009 Special Prize of the Foundation “Suez Environment Water for all”, for an innovative approach of the Barefoot College in knowledge and skills development and dissemination. With the certainty that communities have the skills to develop themselves, the Barefoot College (http://www.barefootcollege.org/ ), established in 1972 by Bunker Roy Tilonia village Rajasthan, one of the most extensive, the most arid and poorest in India, has trained for more than 30 years hundreds of men and women, among the poorest and most illiterate, to practices which are utilized later in the community.
Building on traditional knowledge and local experience, in this particular area, rainwater harvesting systems have been deployed in India and several African countries.

At its meeting on 19 June 2009, the Board of Directors confirmed the commitment of Aquassistance in five new projects.

Kandi (Benin)

In the town of Kandi in northern Benin, drinking water supply is insufficient. Due to the remoteness and scarceness of drinking water points, the people and especially the women are forced to turn toward unreliable water sources. The Fulani people applied to two Beninese NGOs, Crape and Alafia, who have completed an initial diagnosis. This is a classical project of rural hydraulics. Five wells are to be achieved and equipped with human motor pumps. Local water committees will manage the facilities.

 
REMA Hospital in Ruyigi (Burundi)

 The Shalom House is a Burundi NGO set up in 1993 and working for family reunification and reintegration of Hutu and Tutsi orphans. Maguy Barankitse, the founder of the Shalom House, has created, among other things, the Rema Hospital in Ruyigi. Aquassistance already intervened in 2006 and 2007 to provide technical guidance for the drinking water supply of the hospital and the evacuation and treatment of wastewater. The Shalom House invited Aquassistance to a new intervention to complete the facilities that are insufficient. The first mission will take place in October 2009. (http://www.maisonshalom.net/)

Ambohimahasoa (Madagascar)

In 2007-2008, the “Fraternité tout horizon” Association in Dunkerque carried out a water supply project, funded by the City of Dunkerque, for the Augustinian Sisters and the village of Ambohimahasoa, south of Antananarivo. The system no longer meets the increasing needs and Aquassistance will consider how to satisfy demand at minimum cost.
 
Maata Moulana (Mauritania)

Aquassistance has already intervened in Maata Moulana some years ago, as far as waste management and water supply are concerned. This town not far from Nouakchott is a significant rapidly-growing spiritual centre where many schools are established. A master plan was developed in 2006 by Aquassistance to build new reservoirs, but due to a lack of funding, the project was abandoned. Aquassistance will update it and discuss with its Mauritanian partner, “Terre Vivante”, and the municipality of Maata Moulana how to implement the recommendations.

http://www.matamoulana.net/french/index.htm

http://www.terrevivante.net/  
 
UNATEK University in Kibungo (Rwanda)

The UNATEK University in Kibungo is quite recent. It was founded by Rwandans returning to their country to rebuild it, often after a long absence. The project which will be joined by Aquassistance consists in setting up a laboratory for water analysis for the needs of the centre for agricultural and agri-food research. First assessment in September.
http://www.unatek.org/spip.php?rubrique11

On 28 May 2009, Cyclone Aila swept across the south of Bangladesh, leaving 190 dead in its wake. The relatively low number of victims was due to the combined efforts of the population and to the set-up of alert systems. But the material damage was as great as that of Cyclone Sidr in 2007, even if it did not attract as much international media attention.

After the seawalls collapsed forming a breach more than 1500 km long, sea water invaded the lowlands, wrecking 680,000 homes and destroying 13,000 hectares of crops. Salt water also contaminated the fresh water resources of almost 4 million people.

In March 2009, the Aquassistance Board of Directors decided to undertake twelve new projects in addition to the sixty already in progress. Although eight of them are rather conventional hydraulic projects carried out in West African villages, the four others are more atypical. They range from the master plan for the integrated management of waste in a small town (Gaibandha) to the post-crisis reconstruction of urban water networks (Gumri and Bwamanda) and to the capitalization of experience (collaboration with ENDA Tiers Monde). The teams of volunteers are being trained to enable the first missions of expertise to be all carried out before the end of 2009. The first will take place before the summer.

On its March meeting, the Aquassistance Board  has also decided after assessments to continue its involvement in three projects launched during previous meetings.

Aquassistance carries on its work in rural hydraulics. The water needs in rural or semi-rural areas of Africa become pressing because of the global warming. Aquassistance receives more and more requests and it is impossible to take them all into consideration. The March 2009 Board of Directors selected eight projects supported by local NGO or by French associations of natives of these villages. We will help the people in the villages to carry out these projects aimed at improving the health and the economic development of these regions. The involvement in a project of a local partner is a necessary though not sufficient condition for success.

It is the association " Enfants du Monde Solidarité " who submitted to Aquassistance the project for the C2 village, Thanh Thang municipality, Can Tho Province in the Mekong Delta.