In spite of the existence of a manual drinking water well in the village of Sahari- one of the villages in the Majzer district of Marib- women and children were bitterly suffering in fetching water to their homes, due to lack of a piped water network in the village. Earlier, the residents had been forced to flee their village during the conflict. Upon their return after the conflict subsided in their area, the villagers found that everything they had in their village had been either destroyed and or looted, including the water pump at the well. This forced people to return to the old ways of fetching water manually.

Local Initiative

Before the break out of the crises, and in spite of their modest means, the residents of the village of Sahari carried out a local initiative to build a small reservoir and buy a water-pump. They cooperated with charitable people to build a five-meter high, 7 cubic meter tank. They also connected polyethylene pipes to the tank, but because the tank was small, the water didn’t reach most of the homes in the village. This lead to many feuds and disputes between villagers, ultimately leading to  a suspension of pumping into the tank.

The conflict had started early on in the district of Majzer, forcing the residents into displacement. Once the conflict ended in and around the village, villagers returned to their homes only to see that the pump at the well had been looted. Suffering returned and women and children went back to the old ways of fetching water.

A Solvable Problem

Anyone in the bazaar of the village of Sahari, can readily see tens of women gathered around the water well, which is just a close distant away from the Bazaar- an undesirable scene in these traditional communities.  The women can be seen washing cloths and beddings and filling water containers to take back to their homes - very much the same way as it used to be in the old days.

One of the residents of the village, Mohamed Al-Osayli, said this suffering can be addressed because the well has plenty of water. What was missing was a pump and  a tower tank to make water delivery to the homes possible using the existing pipe network.

PWP intervenes

The good news came quickly to the residents of the village. PWP decided to intervene to address this problem. In coordination with the Majzer Charity Association, PWP agreed to build a 9 meter high, 30 cubic meters tower water tank.  The Association would provide the pump and operate the project by connecting the water supply network to the tank and to homes.

With this intervention in the village of Sahari, PWP sought to address the water problem and alleviate the daily suffering of women and children in the village. It also aimed at improving the livelihood and health situation of households and provide better opportunities for girls to continue their education by reducing the burden of having to fetch water for their families.

Geographical Location

The district of Majzer is located to the northwest of the city of Marib, the provincial capital of Marib. It is bordered to the north by the Governorate of Al-Jawf, to the west, the Governorate of Sana’a, from the east, the two districts of Raghwan and Madghel and from the South, the district of Serwah. The village of Sahari is located in the center of the district of Majzer and overlooks the banks of Wadi Al-Faradhah. It sits on the foot of a small hill, five kilometers away from the asphalt road connecting the Governorate of Al-Jawf with the Marib-Sana’a highway. Sahari village is surrounded by agricultural land from three sides.

Economic Activities

Agriculture and goat herding are the most important economic activities in the area. The residents cultivate grain and fodder relying on seasonal rainfall. There are some vegetable farms irrigated by groundwater wells. The residents also work in goat herding benefitting from the fertile grazing grounds in the area, since the village is located in a mountain range close to a number of valleys adjacent to the mountain chains of Serwah and Nihm districts.