In Mémé, the sun brings clean drinking water to an entire community

It is 10:30 a.m. The break bell has just rung, and children burst out of their classrooms, running, schoolbags on their backs. Not long ago, this rush for water often ended in pushing and shoving. Today, it ends with a simple gesture: turning on a tap and drinking.

Fadi Débora is 14. She is in her final year of primary school (CM2) at Mémé Public School, and she dreams of becoming a teacher. “Before, there wasn’t enough water, and there were so many people,” she says. Water arrived at the school this year. Today, when she is thirsty, she can drink.

More than 2,000 pupils, one water point

In Mémé, four schools – public schools, a bilingual school and a nursery school – shared a single water point that had long become insufficient for more than 2,000 pupils.

The school principal describes the scene: “During the break, they crowd around. Sometimes they even fight.” Many children would go home to fetch water, with no way of knowing where it came from, and return late to class. “Our children fall sick regularly, and we don’t understand why. It may be because of dirty water,” he continues.

The context made the situation even more fragile: the Far North Region was hit by cholera in recent months, and insecurity continues to displace families towards areas like Mémé.

The sun as a source of energy

Thanks to the DDR project, funded by the European Union with support from UNICEF, a solar-powered water supply system has been built at the school. Solar panels power a pump that draws water from deep underground and sends it to a water tower, then on to several taps.

The system runs on solar energy: photovoltaic panels power the pump of a 60-metre borehole with a flow rate of 3 m³. Water is stored in a 12 m³ water tower, then distributed to four water points. Construction took three months. The facility is covered by a one-year warranty before final acceptance, during which a local monitoring team oversees its proper operation and can call on the contractor in case of breakdown.

“It is a photovoltaic project that pumps water using solar panels and distributes it to the different water points,” explains Biorel, a technician with the company that carried out the works. He has seen residents come from far away to fetch water: “That shows there is a real water shortage here.”

Children who stay in school, a community that breathes easier

The changes are visible every day. “Children no longer have to look for water in the neighbourhood. They drink safe water, and now we can keep them at school,” says the principal with relief. He notes fewer illnesses and better attendance. Pupils also clean the latrines more easily, thanks to the water now available on site.

The benefits reach well beyond the school walls. The system also supplies the Child-Friendly Space, the hospital, nearby households and the neighboring market. For a population that used to travel far to find water, this is a profound change – and, for a region tested by cholera, one more safeguard for the health of children and families.

Playing to heal

At the school, facilitators from the Child-Friendly Space already run games and activities during the break. For displaced children, often marked by what they have lived through, play is a first step towards healing. “When a child plays, he or she blossoms, and in class, they respond better to lessons,” says a teacher. For him and his colleagues, access to water and psychosocial support go hand in hand: children who are healthy, who drink enough and who feel safe learn better.

What remains to be done

Water is only a beginning. Mémé’s school community shares its priorities: a fence to protect pupils from the traffic that crosses the schoolyard, especially on market days; enough functional latrines; desks and benches, as many children still sit on the floor; more teachers for the 925 pupils in the school; and a referral mechanism to better protect children at risk.

At the water point in Mémé, the water flows, and with it, school days that are no longer interrupted. For Fadi, and for hundreds of children like her, it is one more step towards her dream: to one day become the teacher of her own class.

Funded by the European Union and implemented by UNICEF, IOM, the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Committee (CNDDR) and their partners, this facility shows how access to a service as essential as water can protect children, strengthen community services and support reconciliation in a region marked by crises.

Because in Mémé, behind every tap, there is now far more than water: time regained to learn, better-protected health, and a community moving forward, together, towards a safer tomorrow.