13 new wells in Africa thanks to the 24 Hours of Sport and Solidarity

The 24 Hours of Sport organized by Amurt at the Amici del Po sports club was a success in terms of participation and sociability; as for the charitable aims of the event, it will be possible to build as many as 13 wells in Africa that will allow about 50,000 people to have drinking water in their villages.

“We are very satisfied with the result,” said Paolo Bocchi, Amurt Italia, “which benefits from an agreement made with the Nigerian government that doubles those financed by us, so for the future too there are ideal conditions in this African country to operate profitably. Most of the drilling will therefore be carried out in Nigeria, where Amurt runs several health facilities in the south-eastern part of the country. Amurt Nigeria has completed the assessment for the water project, which provides for the construction of 12 wells. We will build eight wells in the Ishielu region. The wells will be used by the Ezzagu Community, where we opened a new hospital in 2022. The remaining wells will be built in the Ebonyi region, where Amurt has its headquarters, three near the Uloawnu hospital and one near the Ohagelode hospital, all recently built health facilities run by Amurt. The construction of the wells follows a tested procedure with a precise order so that the village communities are involved in the project and take responsibility for managing the water systems, so that they last over time.”

The activities will therefore follow this order:
1. Community awareness-raising – a meeting in the village with the entire community, including the election of the WASHCOM, that is, a sort of Committee for the hygiene and health of the village.
2. The Community will show the AMURT team their preferred location for the well. Geophysical surveys will be carried out to confirm the presence of water in the ground and how deep we will have to drill.
3. Drilling, setting up the rig and laying the gravel – the AMURT team will go with the drilling company to drill the well, and the whole thing will be filled with gravel.
4. Building the platform – the Community, together with the AMURT team, assisted by experts, will build the concrete platform for each borehole.
5. WASHCOM – training – 12 members, selected by the Community, will receive two days of training on protecting water sources, mechanics, operation of the well, maintenance and repair of the well and the hand pump, and the use of all the tools in the toolbox. Further teaching will be given on public health, sanitation and hygiene.
6. INSTALLATION – the WASHCOM together with the AMURT Team will install the well, and it will be ready for use by the Community.

A well will also be built in Burkina Faso, where Amurt Italia has built in recent years a school with over 600 students and a small clinic, and where an agricultural project is active that contributes to the sustainability of the community.