For over 10 years, Emmaus International has been implementing the Citizens in Solidarity for Water project in Nokoué, Benin, alongside the local population, to enable them to take ownership of access to water and sanitation and to manage this common good together. Today, more than 100,000 people have access to drinking water, sanitation and wastewater treatment facilities, and a users’ association manages the operation of the entire infrastructure and service.

In Nokoué, the population has long accepted the ambivalent function of its lake, the largest in the country, which is both a resource for fishing and the many uses of water, and an outlet for human excrement and waste of all kinds. With the dilapidated public facilities, people had become accustomed to drinking the water from the lake, despite its insalubrity.

In 2007, with the support of the local Emmaus Pahou group, the lake’s fishermen’s association, a group of residents and the local authorities, Emmaus International embarked on a large-scale project: the construction of the complete infrastructure – production and distribution of drinking water, as well as sanitation – for the 100,000 or so inhabitants of the shores of Lake Nokoué. After months of consultation and involvement of the local population, the infrastructure was gradually built, and hygiene education and training in community life were implemented simultaneously. Emmaus International and the users’ association – which was set up to ensure public and citizen management of the infrastructure by the lake’s residents – met with officials from the municipality, the prefecture and the state in order to obtain recognition for citizen management of water as part of Benin’s public policy.

Ten years on, Lake Nokoué includes twelve new boreholes, nine water towers, a network of public latrines, purification stations, as well as a hundred standpipes serving over 80% of the population. Almost 100 people are employed part-time to service the equipment.

The primary key factor in the success of the project is the involvement of the population, which has participated at all stages. The second is the role of women, who play a central role in the domestic economy and management. As a result, parity was established from the outset in the decision-making bodies of the users’ association, and women gained increasing influence. They have established themselves as an essential messengers in promoting hygiene to households.

Today, the population is faced with maintaining the network as parts of it have aged. This is the case for the generators that power the borehole pumps. Emmaus International, which continues to support the project, has undertaken to add solar panels to improve the security of the water supply and the environmental footprint of the facilities. This also reduces the diesel bill, which accounts for half of the system’s operating budget.