Bamako, Mali—The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) will improve access to safe drinking water and teach practical hygiene and sanitation methods through a one-year project in the Koulikoro region of southern Mali. The newly implemented project, known as Water and Education for a Long Life (WELL), will run from July 2007 to June 2008.

The WELL project will improve the lives of village members in the region's Kolokani district by ensuring improved water access for personal use and income generation by drilling and rehabilitating 15 wells and initiating income-producing activities such as home gardening.

In addition, hygiene and sanitation education will be taught through puppet theatre to encourage families, especially women and children, to adopt safer hygiene practices. The puppet shows teach the villagers about the importance of clean water, as well as hand washing, diarrhea, and oral dehydration salts.

"Puppetry, as a tool for development, is an innovative method for Mali," said Karla Leitzke, ADRA Mali country director. "We are very excited to start this project so we can provide water for villagers, as well as education to empower them to make wiser daily decisions."

Funded by the ADRA office in the United Kingdom, the WELL project is valued at nearly $120,000 and will benefit 7,900 Malian families, or approximately 48,000 individuals.

Mali is the largest country in West Africa and one of the poorest nations in the world, ranking 175 out of 177 countries, according to the 2006 Human Development Index published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Most rural Malian families have poor access to clean water and limited understanding of good hygiene and sanitation principles and practices.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, or ethnicity.

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Author: Karla Leitzke Media Contact: Nadia McGill ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: 301.680.5145 E-mail: Media.Inquiries@adra.org