“Water is Life.”

This could not be truer than for the people living in the Azawak region of Niger, where, during nine months out of the year there is no water at all.

A vast plain approximately the size of Florida on the edge of the Sahara, the Azawak is the poorest region in Niger, considered the poorest nation in the world. Living on the brink of survival, the region’s 500,000 inhabitants walk up to thirty miles a day for water . They have no access to roads or schools, and health centers are a two-day donkey ride away. Few organizations or government agencies work to improve their lives.

If you were to travel there, the Azawak people would welcome you in a princely fashion. They would travel miles to obtain a goat to slaughter in your honor and share their last bowl of frothy camel milk. You might ask for water, then turn away in disgust at the cup of brackish liquid brought to you. You would feel ashamed learning that they generously offered you their last cup set aside to drink for the day.

Clean water is there, in aquifers at an average depth of 650-1300 feet. As a program of the American non-profit The Friendship Caravan, Amman Imman, or, "Water is Life" is raising funds to drill permanent sources of water. Our goal is to provide these resilient people a chance to live without the indignity of daily thirst and fear of water-borne illness. With your contribution to Amman Imman we can accomplish this goal.