WenD kouni water and sanitation project

Why are we doing this? To bring access to clean water and sanitation. herARTS in Action has partnered with the villagers of Tiébélé, a remote village in the southern part of Burkina Faso, to develop sustainable programs. All projects and actions are in partnership with the villagers. We don't impose our thoughts or views and work collaboratively to bring their wishes to fruition.

The project name, Wend Kouni, is in honor of a close Burkinabé friend, who also happens to be our board chair. It is also the local name given to Sarah when in the city (she has a village name too, Nanou).

Water

75% of Burkinabé have access to water, but it’s not sanitary, and that number is even less in Tiébélé. Women and girls can spend hours and miles hauling water instead of attending school or work. Access to clean water close to home not only means time to do those activities, but it means better health and quality of life too.

Sanitation

Only 10% of the rural population in Burkina Faso has access to sanitation. This status is even lower in Tiébélé. With improved access to sanitation, disease and assaults decrease. Currently, latrines are the first step in the process as there is no existing plumbing structure set up.

Diapers

Why Diapers? Today 1 in 3 families in the US struggle to provide diapers for their children. Since 2015, we've partnered with Operation Baby New Year in Central Minnesota as the fiscal agent and have raised over 1 million diapers for families in need.

storm drains

Central Minnesota Water Education Alliance (CMWEA) is a coalition that provides educational outreach to promote water quality. Sarah has attended their meetings since 2016 to take action with water close to home, not just in Burkina Faso. Now, she partners with the City of St Cloud to pilot their storm drain mural program, expanding the Adopt A Storm Drain program.

in action

Because of your donations, since 2018, we have built 1 water well pump and fixed 3 and built 6 latrines and fixed 8 that serve approximately 2,000 people. We also provided sanitary pads and diarrheal medication to girls on our scholarship.