Safe water helps families come home again

CAR | 2023 | CBPF

Central African Republic, Bria. The Central African Republic has experienced over a decade of political and humanitarian crisis, driving displacements both inside and outside the country. For many affected people, however,   it is finally time to return home.

In two neighborhoods in Bria, with funding from the OCHA-managed CAR Humanitarian Fund, OXFAM-Intermón built two solar water pumping systems which will help about 6,000 people– mostly returnees from the conflict – to access safe water.

Arnold is a father of six, but only his youngest baby daughter who was able to take her first steps in their home, after years of displacement. In 2020, Arnold’s family was one of the first to return to Yafara neighborhood in Bria city, after spending four years in the Bria ‘PK3’ internal displacement site.

Although the conflict had destroyed a lot of their neighbourhood, Arnold and his family still wanted to come back. They had to rely on water from the nearest river, though, and suffered from water-borne diseases. “It seemed as though I was spending one day at home and then a week at the hospital,” he said of recurring illnesses he, his wife, and the children went through.

Thanks to the solar water pump Arnold knows that he and the children now have access to safe water.

The community manages the installation and operations themselves. They are able to sell any excess water, which means they can fund system maintenance and keep it sustainable into the future.

For more information on the CAR Humanitarian Fund.