Aicha Keita and her family met nine-year-old Fatou in Nienouyah, a village in Faranah, located in high Guinea. She expressed her love for learning and her sadness when she was prevented from attending class due to her lateness. Fatou spoke of her early morning duty to bring water from its source to her
family and the difficulty she had in arriving on time for school.
Aicha Keita had traveled from the U.S. to witness the life of the people in her father’s native village in Guinea in the summer of 2020. Impressed with Fatou’s hospitality, and troubled by her learning challenges due to her family commitment of bringing water to her home, Aicha as a freshman in high school decided to take action. She thought if Fatou could draw water from a well closer to home, she and other children in her village would have a better quality of life. Aicha passionately dedicated herself to making that well a reality in 2021 with her “Wells of Hope Africa.”
Having won the Ashai Family Glenelg Country School service grant competition, gained the support of the Washington DC based Fund for the Future of Our Children and obtained additional funding from family and friends, she raised more than $5000.00 to support the well installation in the Nienouyah village.
Village jubilation followed the gushing of water that came from Aicha’s well. In addition to improving the quality of life for the water gatherers, the villagers have had healthier water to consume and have been spared the waterborne diseases that had come from contaminated surface water. With improved sanitation and healthy water accessibility, enterprising entrepreneurs in the village have started businesses selling food and fruit drinks. The arrival of a water distribution station in the village has considerably improved the quality of life for the Nienouyah villagers.
Presently a senior in high school, Aicha with the support of her mother N’Mah Keita wants to extend their “Wells of Hope Africa” to other localities in Guinea. They particularly want to install a well in Mangata within the Prefecture of Coyah in close proximity to Conakry, the Guinean capital. Government
investments on construction projects at a new airport and deep-water port have attracted a strong migration of people seeking employment in this largely agricultural community.
Public health specialists associated with a health center in Mangata have expressed concern for the prevalence of waterborne diseases emanating from the shallow wells of low-income families. This locality has been deprived of a water supply or water distribution service which in other localities has been provided by the Guinea Water Distribution Company, the official water distribution company in
Guinea.
Having a centralized borehole to access deep water will not only provide healthy drinking water but it will also spare the local community from waterborne diseases. As in the case of the Nienouyah village, having close proximity to water will definitely improve the health of the people in this locality and will also enable them not to have to travel long distances to access clean water.
The borehole, its housing and distribution center will be situated in the Guemekhoure sector in Mangata. This centralized location will be protected by a closed courtyard but it will promote equitable water accessibility when open to the public being in close proximity to the local marketplace.
The Wings of Hope Global Cooperative is pleased to partner with N’Mah Keita and her daughter Aicha’s “Wells of Hope Africa,” to provide the resources to support the water well installation in Mangata and also to other localities in need of healthy fresh water in Guinea. With her public service experience with the US Department of Health and Human Services, N’Mah Keita will be a valuable Board member for the Wings of Hope Global Cooperative overseeing this water project.
