Humanitarian and Development
Place
Senegal
Sponsor
Antoine Stoven
Grant(s)
20,000 euro to the Selection Committee at 2006/07/04
Project leader
Caritas - diocésaine de Thiés
An important center for the Catholic faith in Senegal, Keur Moussa Abbey was founded in 1963. It has become famous for its sung masses accompanied by traditional African instruments (djembes and koras) and for the retreats it provides pilgrims. In addition to these spiritual aspects, it has also become an essential driver in the surrounding region’s socio-economic development. It has established an agricultural school, a dispensary where the people from fifty neighboring villages come for medical care, and a primary school for 260 pupils. The Abbey provides steady employment for around thirty breadwinners.
Dig for water where it is located
Bur the Abbey, and all the people it supplies, is now facing a serious water problem. The well that has supplied it with water since 1994 is showing undeniable signs of exhaustion. Its remaining life span is estimated at two years at the most.
The Abbey, with the assistance of a local specialist company and a Veolia Waterforce volunteer, plans to drill a new well that will have a longer lifespan and a flow rate pf 40 m3/hr seven hours a day. With the support of the Senegal Ministry of Agriculture and Water, it wants to get this vital project up and running: the new well will be drilled to a depth of 115 meters.
The finance granted by the Veolia foundation will add to the other funds collected from the French Embassy and the Jean-Paul II Foundation for the Sahel: in addition to actually drilling the well, it will also be necessary to buy a submersible electric pump and flow control equipment, then a water transport system to the Abbey and a neighboring village will have to be installed.