The Where There’s a Well project has turned out to be a very successful working model. In our foundation period up to mid-2011, we completed 450 wells.

Each well provides water for the fields of between 2 and 4 families with 3 being typical, and each family will have between 6 and 10 dependents relying on the produce of the farm.

The contribution from the project is now approximately £600 for each well, and we have committed to a further 230 wells over the next period.

The success rate of what the wells provide for the farmers is in the order of 98%. The farmers are now able to tend their farms all year round with no forced migration labour, they have money left over each year to re-invest in their farms (eg. in new and more profitable crops), and most importantly, their children can now go to school.

When we first launched the project, there was an initial drop-out rate of approximately 25% as some farmers felt they could not commit to the work involved without jeopardising their income. This has now turned around completely, so that we can only satisfy one in five of the farmers who want to take part in the project.

Furthermore our model has been adopted by some of the other agencies involved in providing rural welfare.