“puRE water for life”: Clean drinking water in Afikpo

31. August 2022

Our second largest construction project to date is taking place in Nigeria.

Not too far from the school grounds, we are building a large water treatment plant. The project runs under the title “puRE water for life”.

The problem?

Many people do not have access to clean drinking water. They cannot afford to buy water. For this reason, they either collect drinking water from the roof in pots or fetch the water from public wells or distant streams or ponds. The water has a high heavy metal load, especially in the upper layers. Even the water from the public wells is contaminated and polluted because it is fetched from too shallow a depth.

The human impact is fatal. Typhoid and kidney disease are the most common causes of contaminated water. These diseases would require visits to the doctor or hospital, which very few people can afford. If, in addition to the water problem, there is also poor nutrition and poverty, the future prospects for the children are very poor: No money – no treatment! In case of illness – no school attendance! No school attendance – no training and no chance of work! The chain reaction is obvious.

The solution:

We build a well, a bottling plant and filter the water. We produce around 6 million liters of drinking water a year, of which we give away 50% to the poor families and sell 50% to mini traders at a fair price in order to cover our operating costs (personnel, material costs). With this we can provide 5,000 people with clean drinking water and make a major contribution to preventive health care. And since we operate the entire system with photovoltaics, we are also energy self-sufficient.

The implementation:

We purchased a photovoltaic system and a special fountain technology from a company in Germany for 68,000 Euros. This plant will be shipped to Nigeria in September and should be available at our project site by November.
We have started to build a wall on our property and to set up the bottling hall, in which the filter systems, storage hall etc. are housed. We still have to buy a truck for delivery, install the PV system, hire staff and much more. However, we are confident that the first water can be produced in the first quarter of 2023. The total cost of the project is almost 200,000 euros.

Eventuell auch interessant/You May Also Like

Great progress in Nigeria

Great progress in Nigeria

The Canteen In January 2023, the completed school canteen was handed over to the school management of the Amuro/Mgbom...

U-Block put into operation

U-Block put into operation

Finally the time has come: On May 28, 2022, the renovation of the U block of the Amuro/Mgbom school was completed and...