In June, our team visited a community in Northern Nigeria as part of our ongoing assessment work. We sat down with the Mai Gari to talk about what the village is facing, and it became clear pretty quickly that clean water isn't something they can count on.
There's no reliable source nearby. People, mostly women and children, walk long distances to find water, and often what they find isn't safe to drink anyway.
This isn't unusual for the region. A lot of rural communities in Northern Nigeria deal with the same problem, and it affects more than just thirst. Kids miss school because fetching water takes hours. Waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera spread more easily, especially among younger children. Families end up spending money they don't have on water from vendors, or they get sick from what's available for free. It adds up.
What the director told us
After the visit, our director sent us this message about the trip, speaking in Hausa:
"Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah... a dan wannan tsakanin munziyarci kauyuka dayawa, wadanda suke cikin matsanancin wahalar ruwan sha, sukace a gayamuku duk wanda yake da iko yazo yasa atonmusu rijiya, wannan bakin talauci da yayi katutu a kauye Allah ya tsaremu."
Roughly translated: "We visited a number of villages that are struggling badly with a lack of drinking water. They asked us to pass on a message: whoever has the means should come and dig them a well. This kind of poverty has taken root in the village. May Allah protect us."
It's a simple ask, and it's one we hear often enough that it shouldn't be surprising anymore. But it still is, every time.
What we're doing about it
We told the Mai Gari and the community that we'd act on what we saw. Our commitment is to help provide a proper water source, most likely a well, that can actually hold up over time and take some of the daily weight off families, especially the women and children who do most of the walking.
This is basically how we work. We go, we listen to the people leading these communities, we look at what's actually needed, and then we try to figure out how to make it happen. Water access isn't a side project for us. It's tied directly to health, to whether kids stay in school, and to whether families can get some breathing room.
Why this keeps happening
Northern Nigeria has some real, structural water problems: unpredictable weather, not enough infrastructure investment over the years, and more people needing water than the existing sources can handle. In the dry season it gets worse, since even the water that is available can dry up or run low.
None of this is new information, but it's easy to forget when it's not in front of you. A well doesn't just mean water. It means less time spent walking, fewer kids getting sick, and one less thing a family has to worry about every single day.
How to help
The ask from this community was straightforward: if you're able to help, help. You don't need any particular skill for that.
You can donate through our website, and every amount goes toward projects like this one. If you'd rather give your time, we're always open to volunteers who want to be involved in visits or assessments like this one. And if you can't do either right now, just sharing this helps too. More people knowing about a problem is usually the first step to someone actually fixing it.
Reach out through our website or the contact numbers listed there if you want to get involved.