In May 2016, after ten years of work on the lake, the Nokoué project will come to an end. However, this doesn’t mean that the work stops – far from it! Having received support for several years, the people of Nokoué now independently manage the infrastructure and awareness-raising activities.
For nearly ten years, the Emmaus movement has been involved in the Nokoué programme, a vast project which has allowed more than 100,000 residents of Lake Nokoué to access drinking water and sanitation facilities. Illnesses related to the consumption of dirty water and bad hygiene have dropped considerably thanks to these infrastructures.
However, this project is special, not because of the work carried out, but because it has made the local population central to the project, responsible for making its own decisions: men and women from around Nokoué were elected to sit on the various decision-making bodies; woman were trained to raise awareness within the communities; people from the villages were recruited to manage and maintain the infrastructures; teachers were tasked with instructing children on good hygiene and sanitation habits.
During the month of February, a film was shot showing how the population of Lake Nokoué took on the project and became increasingly involved. It will be available by the end of April, but in the meantime, you can watch the 2010 film that presents the first stages of the project.
