by Kate Cusimano

Today is World Refugee Day, a time to reflect on the struggles faced by the millions of people who are forcibly displaced each year. This year, the refugee crisis dominating the headlines is in the Sahel region of West Africa, a part of the world that is already suffering immensely from drought, famine, and the conditions associated with extreme poverty.

Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in an attempt to escape the sectarian violence that is dominating Northern Mali. Over forty thousand of these refugees have streamed into Niger, and as many as 50 new families arrive every day. This has created an untenable situation in which the population of the border region of Tillabéri must share already scant resources with the newly arrived refugees.

In an effort to help provide some relief, Wells Bring Hope has adjusted our drilling plan in order to direct additional resources to Niger’s border region. Our original drilling plan called for 10 wells to be drilled in Tillabéri over the course of the year, but as a result of our accelerated plan, we drilled 23 wells in Tillabéri in the first quarter alone.

References

Ayoub, Abed. “Fight to Survive in Niger.” Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 20 June 2012.

“Niger: Local Population and Malian Refugees Hard Hit by Food Crisis.” All Africa. The International Committee of the Red Cross, 1 June 2012.

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