Developing Rural Communities Through Sanitation
At the New Yundum Market, local families and market vendors are looking forward to a safer and cleaner community through sanitation improvements.
Developing Rural Communities Through Sanitation
At the New Yundum Market, local families and market vendors are looking forward to a safer and cleaner community through sanitation improvements.
This is Yundum, in the West Coast of Gambia. Very few households here have pit latrines, so several large families are forced to share. In desperation, many people resort to defecating in open areas, like fields. Women cannot relieve themselves, or bathe without worrying for their safety. The dire lack of sanitation facilities is creating a serious health hazard in Yundum.
Open sewage and poor sanitation can cripple whole communities. It can cause infectious disease, keeping men and women from work and children from school. For smaller children, such diseases can often be fatal. In communities where poverty is rife, a lack of safe water and sanitation means people with little money are forced to spend what they have on medication and healthcare.
With your support, MGR is building public pit latrines and sanitation facilities at New Yundum Market. We’re also installing a safe water source near the latrines, all within easy access to the local community. The facilities will include three toilet cubicles; three shower cubicles with water tanks; a five-seat wudu area for hand washing and religious ablution; as well as a borehole water-pump providing safe water for consumption.
The New Yundum Market is strategically located at the heart of the Yundum rural community. The market is frequented by 38 male and 171 female vendors every day. The facilities will also serve children and teachers at nearby schools, as well as people visiting the nearby clinic. A further 96 men and 142 women from local households will also have access to the facilities.
At MGR, we’re water experts. With simple, development solutions we can turn rural communities around. Donate Now to support our Water and Sanitation projects.