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Case Study

Photo: Pact

Community members construct a new semi-urban water distribution system in Kauda, Sudan

“We thought it was not possible to get piped water because of the geology,” said Kasim, a trader in Kauda, a town in Sudan that now has safe water through a USAID-funded program.

Challenge

Communities such as Kauda, in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state, struggle to find and develop usable water points. Due to the lack of clean and safe water, the town’s residents are often at risk of diseases brought on by drought and waterborne illness. Kauda lies in the Nuba Mountains, a politically significant region that was often on the front lines during the civil war and suffered from severely low resources, political and social marginalization, and a harsh and isolated environment. The town has extremely limited water sources, and community members are often forced to use unprotected water wells.

Initiative

Working with community and business leaders in Kauda, a USAID-sponsored program examined solutions to the water shortage by identifying areas of high traffic and conflict zones in the area. As a result, construction of a semi-urban water distribution system in Kauda began. This system maximizes the production of water sources by allowing single boreholes to provide water to users at several points within one region. The increased water distribution allows neighboring communities access to dependable and safe water, reducing tensions over water sources in target areas. Solar power and a mobile generator pump water from a protected source to an elevated tank and channels water to points up to two kilometers (about one mile) away.

Results

Kauda’s water system is now bringing safe water to this growing town. By providing water to over 5000 users, Kauda’s system helps alleviate conflict brought on by water shortages. The scheme also minimizes the time women and children spend searching for water, allowing children more time to go to school. A community water management committee was recruited and trained on social mobilization, hygiene and sanitation, team work and group dynamics, financial management, cost sharing, borehole operation and maintenance. The water committee is now responsible for the control and management of Kauda’s water system’s points, giving local leaders more freedom over their own natural resources and community development.

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