Priority
Limited access to clean water and sanitation services in parts of Burkina Faso contribute to many diseases. Establishing water points closer to villages helps reduce health risks and it also allows children to attend school and people to focus on other duties as they do not have to spend the bulk of their day transporting water. Building latrines in close proximity to villages or schools can also have a significant lifestyle impact on villagers, particularly girls and women.
Initiatives
Orezone began a project in partnership with Ryan’s Well Foundation, a Canadian organization dedicated to providing clean water and sanitation services to communities in which the Company operates. Several communities have benefited from improved water access as a result of Orezone’s well-drilling initiatives in Burkina Faso and Niger. Since 2004, Orezone and Ryan’s Well Foundation have teamed up on more than $300,000 of projects that have benefited thousands of people in need. In addition, Orezone executives have previously sat on the Ryan’s Well Foundation board and provided strategic and financial advice to help further its initiatives.
During Q2 2015 the Company initiated a water drilling program that added 20 wells to the local community in the area surrounding the Bomboré mining permit.