Located east of the Gueasso sub-prefecture, in the Moribadou district, the village of Guewé – one of the oldest in the region – has been facing a chronic crisis of access to drinking water for years.

With more than 800 inhabitants, this landlocked village, nestled in a rugged terrain, is suffering from a water shortage that is disrupting the daily lives of its inhabitants and seriously threatening their health.

To reach the only remaining usable water source, villagers must descend into a steep ravine. This perilous journey has become a daily chore for women and children, often after long hours spent in the fields.

"There's no other solution. The women are exhausted. They leave the fields and spend hours looking for water. When the dry season arrives, it's a nightmare. Climbing the hill causes back pain. If you're not strong, you fall," says Martine, a village resident.

The only well, dug in 2000 by a former logging company, is now out of use. Attempts to dig other ordinary wells have run into rock as deep as 12 meters due to a lack of resources to continue. In the meantime, villagers are turning to natural water holes, exposed to runoff.

"The water we drink contains algae, it turns green. When it rains, all the dirty water flows into it. The children get sick, but we have no other choice," laments Yaramon Camara.

The village imam, who returned from Ivory Coast, gives a striking testimony:

"I drank this water the day I arrived. I vomited for seven days, with diarrhea. This situation is very serious. Our children are getting sick."

For elders like Losseny Chérif, this decades-long water crisis is a real scourge for the community. The suffering of women is particularly striking. In addition to their agricultural activities, they devote hours to searching for water, sometimes late into the night.

"If it rains, it's joy. Everyone goes out with basins and buckets to collect water from the roofs. It's the only 'clean' water we can hope for before the dry season."

Faced with this critical situation, the residents of Guewé are launching an urgent appeal to local and national authorities, as well as NGOs, institutions, and technical partners. The village needs a sustainable solution: the rehabilitation of the existing well or the construction of a modern borehole.

Because here, every drop of water is a fight. And every liter, a victory.