Nigeria

Photo courtesy of Father Madu, Claretian Missionaries of Nigeria

Steve has worked with Fr. Madu for many years. On one of his recent trips to Boulder, Steve set it up for him to stay at the local Catholic Church. The local priest, Fr. Fitzgerald was reluctant at first but after meeting Fr. Madu, he was so impressed that he asked him to give the sermon after the next Sunday's service. The parish was so impressed they donated almost $40,000 to Fr. Madu's solar water pumping project.

This community development project in a remote area of Nigeria was designed using a low-cost approach to resolving some basic standard of living issues for an impoverished rural farming community. The project involves two primary strategies. The first is to install a solar-powered water pumping system that would provide safe drinking water and sufficient irrigation water for the long dry season. The second is to build a protective wall around the Utonkon farm complex. The intertwined efforts stand to benefit an estimated 15,000 Watuolo people living in the vicinity of the Utonkon villages.

The solar powered water pumping system will extend the growing season into the long dry season which extends from October to May, thereby improving diet and health throughout a time when, historically, there are few vegetables to eat. By using a pipeline to transport water from the distant Ugenge River (located about 6 km away) in addition to using water purification and sanitation techniques, people should be less exposed to water-borne diseases such as guinea worm, typhoid, cholera and meningitis which plague the region.

The wall surrounding the 2 km-squared farm provides protection against threats to crops, structures, animals and people. These threats include the regional practice of bush burning, a technique discouraged by the government and NGOs, but continued for the purposes of clearing land and flushing out bush rats - a primary source of protein for the indigenous poor. Sometimes such fires burn out of control, accidentally destroying crops and even human structures. The nearby village of Etoor was completely destroyed by an out-of-control fire during the last dry season. Further threats to the welfare of the people and their property consist of encroachment and poaching by nomadic Fulanis and their cattle. The wall is intended to protect crops against fire and to deter intruders.

Other benefits include an overall improvement in the standard of living by providing substantially better nutrition, employment, self-reliance and technical training.

The Claretian Farm Project was spearheaded by Reverend Fathers Wenceslaus Madu, Provincial Superior of the Claretian Missionaries of Nigeria, and Wilfred Anagbe, Project Coordinator. Financial assistance for the project was provided by St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Boulder, Colorado and Claretian missionaries in the U.S.