BURKINA FASO

When Wisdom Spring was founded 17 years ago we began several projects in local villages located in Burkina Faso. Our founder Sobonfu Some was born and raised in Burkina and her stories about carrying water fed the initial inspiration for Walking for Water.

There was another important reason we began work in Burkina. Almost right away Sobonfu wanted to make sure that we had as much oversight as possible for the projects we worked on. We would not have staff living in the countries and communities we supported. This meant making sure we had strong reliable contacts on the ground to assure work was completed properly and as agreed. Sobonfu had connections in different parts of the country that would regularly check and monitor the wells being created and assure that tuitions found their way to the right children and families.

As a result the majority of wells created over the years are located in Burkina Faso. All are located in rural areas with the purpose of supporting small villages. Since these are generally locations requiring women to walk distances for water, it was felt that the greatest impact could occur here. Outside of a well created to support a Peace Corp initiative, all the wells in general were located in the southern part of the country. Sobonfu would engage elders of different villages to assess need and designate communities committed to maintaining the wells and pumps.

The first few wells were hand dug by local workers. These are a more problematic type of structure since they have a higher risk of collapsing. Hand dug wells are naturally wider in diameter and need reinforcement with bricks or concrete to keep them stable. However if a well requires more depth, then it needs more internal structure. Also this type of structure is often hand pulled, meaning someone has to drop a bucket and haul that bucket up many feet. 

After a few years we shifted to borehole style drilling. This style of well is generally more stable and has the ability to reach deeper if needed. Since the hole created is narrower in diameter it tends to provide stronger stability. Also this style utilizes a pump (either hand or powered) which provides less stress for those drawing water. 

As of 2017 we placed further water projects on hold in Burkina due to Sobonfu’s death and more recently due to instability in Burkina Faso. Since her death we are less able to connect to local support, so it felt safer to find other communities to continue our work in. If the situation changes we will certainly restart work in this wonderful country. 

BURKINA FASO

When Wisdom Spring was founded 17 years ago we began several projects in local villages located in Burkina Faso. Our founder Sobonfu Some was born and raised in Burkina and her stories about carrying water fed the initial inspiration for Walking for Water.

There was another important reason we began work in Burkina. Almost right away Sobonfu wanted to make sure that we had as much oversight as possible for the projects we worked on. We would not have staff living in the countries and communities we supported. This meant making sure we had strong reliable contacts on the ground to assure work was completed properly and as agreed. Sobonfu had connections in different parts of the country that would regularly check and monitor the wells being created and assure that tuitions found their way to the right children and families.

As a result the majority of wells created over the years are located in Burkina Faso. All are located in rural areas with the purpose of supporting small villages. Since these are generally locations requiring women to walk distances for water, it was felt that the greatest impact could occur here. Outside of a well created to support a Peace Corp initiative, all the wells in general were located in the southern part of the country. Sobonfu would engage elders of different villages to assess need and designate communities committed to maintaining the wells and pumps.

The first few wells were hand dug by local workers. These are a more problematic type of structure since they have a higher risk of collapsing. Hand dug wells are naturally wider in diameter and need reinforcement with bricks or concrete to keep them stable. However if a well requires more depth, then it needs more internal structure. Also this type of structure is often hand pulled, meaning someone has to drop a bucket and haul that bucket up many feet. 

After a few years we shifted to borehole style drilling. This style of well is generally more stable and has the ability to reach deeper if needed. Since the hole created is narrower in diameter it tends to provide stronger stability. Also this style utilizes a pump (either hand or powered) which provides less stress for those drawing water. 

As of 2017 we placed further water projects on hold in Burkina due to Sobonfu’s death and more recently due to instability in Burkina Faso. Since her death we are less able to connect to local support, so it felt safer to find other communities to continue our work in. If the situation changes we will certainly restart work in this wonderful country.