Reducing poverty in Sudan through community water supply

This paper is written by the Water & Sanitation Adviser to the EU’s Humanitarian Plus Programme in Sudan and is based on over three years experience in Sudan and 25 years experience working in Africa. The paper focuses on one of the HPP projects implemented by a Sudanese NGO; El Sugya Charity Organization, who constructed a 30,000 cu.m hafir (water reservoir to collect run-off water) for and with a group of previously neglected villages in North Kordofan State. The paper shows how the NGO built up a partnership with the community before, during and after construction of the hafir and describes how people were involved. But this is not just another water supply project as it has radically changed life in the villages for the better. The construction and filling of the hafir proved to be a catalyst for the State government to do something to assist the communities after decades of neglect. The paper goes on to critically assess how the various interventions have had quite a dramatic effect in alleviating poverty, which is endemic to many rural area of Sudan and has been exacerbated by the 21-year civil war that has adversely affected all of Sudan, not just the south. The paper concludes with some practical learning points for practitioners, civil servants and members of civil society organizations.