Water for Tshikapa - Support our drinking water project in the DR Congo!

For the people in Tshikapa, a town in the south of the DR Congo, there are hardly any possibilities to get clean drinking water and water for household and personal hygiene. For the most part, only water containing sediment is available. Our partner association Budikadidi maintains a well in Tshikapa in addition to several schools. However, for several hundred thousand people in the large Kasai region, many more wells are needed.

That is why we are taking action.

After the rainy season in March 2022, we want to start building two new wells in Tshikapa.  The water from these wells will supply several thousand people with drinking water. Through a small water fee, further wells in the region can be financed and drilled in the following years.

For the concrete implementation we will buy a well drilling rig that has proven itself in Africa and bring it to our project location.  We have a concrete offer for a container with well drilling equipment incl. complete equipment and spare materials, plus well construction equipment for approx. 15 wells (without pumps and solar technology). Since the complete transport is extremely expensive, it makes sense to pack as much material as possible into the container, even if this increases the start-up costs.
 
Our partner Budikadidi has received the official authorization from the responsible ministry to act as a water supplier in the DR Congo and to drill wells. Budikadidi is in close contact with an experienced Congolese engineer who will set up a well drilling team as soon as the equipment is on site.

For the wells, we rely on solar-powered pumps. These are sustainably operated, robust and require little maintenance. For this, we use the contact to a supplier for pumping and solar equipment from Kenya with a branch office in Lumbumbashi (DR Congo). Here, too, we have a concrete offer.

After the first wells have been put into operation, a small charge of the equivalent of about five cents per 20 liters of water will help to maintain the wells, while any surplus will be invested in expanding the region's water supply.

Here's what the bids look like overall:

Well drilling and well construction equipment costs €93,000, complete transportation costs €17,000, well pumping and solar equipment for 2 wells costs €25,000. This is a total of 135.000 €.
(The necessary equipment is offered in US dollars, so the exact price fluctuates depending on the development of the exchange rate.)

Thanks to the great support of our donors we currently have more than 90.000 € on our association account.

Now we have to close the financial gap of 40.000 €.

Due to the high initial costs, the start of the project is a big hurdle. After that, more wells will be built in the region at much lower costs.  Clean drinking water will decisively improve the living situation of the people in and around Tshikapa. In this way, we are giving thousands of people in the heart of Africa the chance to make a positive change in their lives.