GS1247 VPA 309 - Togo Safe Water

The Togo Safe Water Project is a community services micro-scale initiative designed to provide safe, clean drinking water to hundreds of rural households across the Togolese Republic. In rural Togo, a vast majority of the population lacks access to improved water infrastructure and relies on gathering firewood to boil water on inefficient, traditional three-stone fires for purification. This project actively identifies broken-down or abandoned community boreholes and rehabilitates them using emission-free, hand-powered technology—primarily India Mark II and Vergnet Hydropumps. By supplying clean water directly from a reliable source, the project completely displaces the domestic need to burn firewood for water purification, leading to a permanent reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental Benefits - Deforestation Mitigation: Displacing the need to boil water drastically cuts down the consumption of local firewood, alleviating harvesting pressures on nearby forests and conserving vulnerable woodland ecosystems. - Climate Mitigation: The project prevents thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas (CO2, CH4, and N2O) emissions from being released into the atmosphere through stationery wood combustion. Social and Community Benefits - Good Health and Well-Being: By shifting communities away from contaminated water sources (such as open streams and rivers), the project significantly drives down the incidence of debilitating water-borne illnesses and diarrheal diseases. - Gender Equality & Time Poverty Alleviation: Since women and girls bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic care, including the long-distance collection of water and fuel, the central placement of functional boreholes significantly reduces their daily workloads. This addresses systemic "time poverty," allowing more time for education, economic employment, and localized market trade. - Community Capacity Building: The project establishes local Water Point Committees (WPCs) and administers annual water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) training to ensure long-term infrastructural maintenance, community hygiene governance, and gender-balanced decision-making.