Clean water – A matter of fact for many of us, but not everywhere. This is the reason why Rädlinger primus line GmbH supported the project „Unterstützung der Entwicklungshilfe im Senegal” (= support of development aid in Senegal) that aims at ameliorating the water supply. It was called to life in 2014 by Engineers without Borders and Children‘s Aid Senegal in cooperation with the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (= East-Bavarian Technical University; OTH) in Regensburg.
Since then, every year, several students of the civil engineering faculty travel to the African country to support the local population in building an infrastructure for water supply by means of help for self-help. In February 2018, seven young people aided in building rainwater cisterns in Souda, a place with about 2,000 inhabitants and without electricity or flowing water in Senegal’s south.
Rainwater cisterns facilitate irrigation
These three autarkic cisterns – two with five cubic metres content each and one with ten cubic metres content – shall facilitate watering during the dry season. During the rain period, each cistern feeds itself by collecting in its inverted saddle roof the water which will then pour into the cistern via a gap across the entire width. A grid across the opening will already filter out coarse dirt.
Seven local helpers actively supported the students in building the cisterns so that the building activities could already be completed after ten days. The craftsmen only had simple tools at their disposal: For example, they dug the foundation with shovels or mixed the concrete from sand, gravel and cement dryly on the ground and then added water. With a kind of throw-and-beat technique, they applied the concrete on the formwork made of chicken wire and construction foil. Seven concrete layers in total were necessary.
Furthermore, the future civil engineers analysed the water quality of 32 wells in and around Souda from which the residents withdraw their drinking water. The quick test for bacteria and quality showed that not all of the parameters matched the requirements. None of the wells came up to European standard.
Support for Senegal goes on
The common project will be continued next year: Another four-week stay of students in Senegal is planned for 2019. Then, a large rainwater cistern for a future agricultural school as well as further drinking water filters will be built.
