Access to Water in Senegal
Year 2023 was the scene of the CONCERTO 3 project for three establishments in Nice: Raoul Dufy middleschool, Roland Garros middleschool and Les Palmiers high school.This new project aimed to raise awareness among young people in Nice about a major and growing issue in our region : preservation of water resources.
Each establishment focused on a different theme:
Pollution of marine waters and preservation of biodiversity,
Natural risks : droughts and floods,
Access to water and sanitation,
The objective was to make them understand through different activities that water is a common good and to involve them in this approach to induce reflection on individual responsibility in the preservation and sharing of water resources as well as on the preservation of aquatic life.
At the same time, actions on this same theme were initiated in Senegal by the repair of a well and the installation of filtration kits in certain Casamance establishments.
Thus, the Senegalese and French students were able to discuss the differences in access to water in their respective countries.
In France, initially, we approached the different themes with educational games.
Students from Les Palmiers high school put themselves in the shoes of mayors of different cities around the world for the game “Inhabiting the Earth in 2030”. They discovered the different facets of the sustainable city and reflected on public policies to implement development that respects the environment and populations.
The eco-delegates from Raoul Dufy middleschool played “Beware of water !”. Inspired by the Loup Garou, this role play aims to highlight inequalities in access to water and sanitation as well as the vulnerabilities associated with it.
At the Roland Garros middleschool, the eco-delegates played the educational game “My water bottle is empty”. They thus became aware of the inequalities in access to drinking water and its consumption on an international scale, which is very unequal !
Each establishment then received professionals specialized in the water sector. Their presence allowed young people to discuss with people who come into contact with the consequences of human actions in global warming every day and to have concrete answers to their questions on the subject. It was also a great opportunity to discover new professions !
The eco delegates from the Raoul Dufy college welcomed employees of the Régie Eau d’Azur who explained the management of the drinking water network in the Nice metropolis, the consequences of climate change on the hydrographic network (storm Alex and lack of water), to finish with the actions to adopt for more responsible consumption.
The Roland Garros college students met a doctor in hydrogeology and discussed techniques for searching for water and initiating the drilling of a well, as well as these drilling experiences in developing countries in particular.
Thanks to the support of the Jacques Martel Fund, around twenty eco-delegates from Raoul Dufy middleqchool went to the Roure Arboretum to explore the theme of natural risks linked to water in more depth. They were able to see the damage from the recent rains and the importance of plant cover to combat soil erosion.
The students spent their day surrounded by nature, getting involved in a hardwood planting workshop for their heritage conservation. The young people were made aware of the scarcity of water resources during their visit to the site.
In Senegal, only around 40% of schools have access to drinking water.
The Djibélor school is an establishment which welcomes 1,700 nursery and primary school students. Young children represent one of the most fragile populations and susceptible to water-related diseases, but they drink tap water directly, which is nevertheless unfit for consumption.
The installation of water filters allows children but also staff to drink school water safely and very simply. The ORISA kits, supplied by Fonte de Vivo, are very easy to install and purify the water using a series of filters. Thus, the acquisition of these two kits allows the Djibélor school to prevent diseases transmitted by water for all people present in the establishment.
CEM Kénia is a middle school located in the south of Senegal in the city of Ziguinchor in Casamance. This establishment accommodates around 3,000 students, most of them middle school students but also high school students, and has only three taps to supply water to all these students but also the staff. In addition, the water inlets have a very low flow rate, almost non-existent from midday as well as a well which was no longer in working order (the manual pump was out of order due to a low level of water).
CONCERTO 3 made it possible to carry out several actions to provide better access to water at the CEM :
Cleaning of the well already present in order to increase the depth and touch the water table.
Installation of an electric borehole to pump water and purchase of a 1000L tank to act as a water tower and regulate the output flow.
The following work made it possible to facilitate access to water for students during the hottest period of the year before winter, that is to say May and June.
On the occasion of World Water Day on March 22, three videoconference exchanges were organized between students from the two countries to unite and communicate on the actions carried out during the project. Interculturality was in the spotlight, the students spoke about the actions they took for the environment, life at school and the place of access to water in daily life as well as the challenges ahead in Nice and Ziguinchor, between drought and floods.
The young Senegalese spoke about their EVF (Family Life Education) club and their mission to raise awareness among their comrades about the protection of nature, early pregnancies and forced marriages.
Their French correspondents shared the year’s activities on their water theme.
In any case, everyone was delighted to get involved in this exchange to share with young people who have a different perspective on the world.