Safe water at Sakavazoho Health Centre, Madagascar

Thanks to the on-going partnership with Gilbert-Ash, Adsum Foundation can share that we have successfully completed another well in the Sakavazoho community. The community no longer need to fetch unsafe water from the local spring, instead they have access to safe running water from their recent installation! The borehole well is located at the Community Health Centre and will strengthen the community's resilience against water-borne diseases. 

Sakavazoho Health Centre is located in the Ikongo district of Madagascar. This same village benefited from a clean drinking water supply after receiving support from Gilbert-Ash and Adsum Foundation for the installation of a borehole well and hand-pump in September 2020. 

Only 13% of the rural population in Madagascar have access to improved drinking water supplies on premises (JMP 2017). Building on the success of previous water projects with Gilbert-Ash, we have helped to improve the lives of so many individuals across rural Malagasy communities who need support. This borehole directly benefits 3,048 people who are served by the health centre in addition to the 4 staff and their families. That is an incredible amount of people who have benefited! 

The community have been proactive in their approach to practice effective sanitation to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Handwashing stations were installed at the borehole as part of the new protocol to ensure hand-washing with soap before touching the hand-pump. To add to this, the Community Support Field Agent continued to carry out awareness-raising activities for beneficiaries about the 4 key WASH messages, Covid-19 prevention and environmental protection. 

Razafindratony Celestin is a local maintenance technician for the Sakavazoho Health Centre borehole. He shares more below:

'From the start, I was convinced to be part of the team and take care of the infrastructure. We have suffered greatly from the use of non-potable water in the health centre and the community that live in Ambodiara Sakavazoho. Now we are very happy to have this clean drinking water infrastructure, and me especially and personally because it is very difficult for us and our children to fetch water at the spring and at the river in the rainy season. This is why I joined the team, to maintain the infrastructure and take responsibility. Thank you very much!' 

Thank you to Gilbert-Ash for their ongoing partnership that makes borehole wells possible for rural communities in Madagascar!