The province of Kie-Ntem, in which the Diocese of Ebibeyín is located, is in Equatorial Guinea’s northeast and has a population of 263,000 people. The area is especially rural and the provincial capital Ebibeyín is 221 kilometers (approximately 137 miles) from the next largest city of Bata. In this remote, impoverished diocese, there are several parishes where the population lives without safe drinking water.
Salesians will help alleviate the crisis by increasing sanitation, improving the health of children, and supplying clean drinking water by constructing wells and cisterns. The water project in Beayop began in 2019, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a pause in construction. The project resumed at the start of 2022, and residents are grateful for this new water source.
“Water is essential for life, and it’s critical that Salesian programs around the globe have access to safe, clean water for the health and safety of those we serve,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Improving water and sanitation facilities brings a sense of dignity to communities and promotes proper hygiene and safe drinking water.”
U.N.-Water estimates that worldwide more than 2 billion people are living without access to safe water. One in four primary schools has no drinking water service, with students using unprotected water sources or going thirsty. In addition, U.N.-Water notes that more than 700 children under age 5 die every day from diarrheal disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions continues its “Clean Water Initiative” to make building wells and supplying fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work.
Source: Salesian Missions
