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Dida Village Water Well Case Study

Abdi Galgalo greets the Al Mustafa Welfare Trust Volunteer Team with "Asalaam o Alaikum" and a tired smile. He is an elder living in Dida village, the Salawodi–Madogo area of Garissa County, Kenya. His voice carries the weight of someone who has watched his people suffer for years, and still, he speaks with hope. 

In this village, we have so many problems,

and the biggest one is water."

Dida is not the kind of place you will find on most maps. The families here once depended on their livestock, goats, camels and cattle. That was their livelihood, security, and their way of living. But a prolonged drought changed everything. It swiped nearly all of the animals. Now, the people of Dida survive on very little. Clean water does not flow from a tap or a nearby well. 

Instead, families pool whatever money they have to buy water from trucks that haul it in from the Tana River. For many families, even that small expense is too much.

Building a water well in a village like Dida could change the lives of hundreds of people overnight. One well and that’s all to lift a massive burden off their shoulders. 

For years, Dida village had no school at all. Abdi struggled hard to build a school for children. He gathered the village’s people, approached authorities, and eventually a school was built with CDF funding in 2015. It was not finished, but Abdi did not stop. He kept going until the doors finally opened.

But opening a school was only half the battle. The students who sit in the classrooms are hungry. Their parents are struggling hard to meet their children's ends. Children are unable to focus on learning and education because of hunger and continuously waiting for aid to come.

Our children are not going to school and just worried

about finding something to eat," Abdi tells us, his voice heavy.

"Some carry heavy loads on carts, others on their heads! this is how they survive."

These are little children, walking long distances to Madogo town to sell firewood and charcoal.

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No Hospital, No Medicine, No Safety Net

There is almost no healthcare system in the Dida village area. There is no hospital, no clinic, not even a basic dispensary. When a mother goes into labour at night, the entire village wakes up to figure out what we should do now. People rush her to Madogo Hospital, which is located many kilometers away. 

And even when they reach the hospital, there is no guarantee of help. Sometimes the medicine is simply not there. "You are told, 'Go buy it,' and maybe you do not have the money," Abdi explains. It is a cycle that repeats itself over and over, with pregnant women, with sick children, with elders who cannot make the journey at all. In simple words, they have no means to fight a medical emergency!

Al Mustafa Food Aid Family in Rural Africa

A Moment of Relief and Deep Gratitude

Despite all of this, the day we meet Abdi, there is something different in the Dida village. Al Mustafa Welfare Trust has just delivered food to the village. It is the first aid Dida has received in a very long time. The last delivery was back in 2022.

"Every home is smiling today. Alhamdulillah," Abdi says.

We have seen a hope in his eyes for the first time. "We are deeply thankful. We had not received food for a long time.

What Dida Needs

Abdi does not ask for the impossible. He asks for the basic needs that most of us take for granted every single day.

Water Supply:

Families should not have to buy water from passing trucks. A permanent water well would give Dida clean, reliable water for drinking, cooking, and growing food.

Food Packs: 

Consistent food packs delivery in the village helps children free from hunger and they can go back to school and parents can stop worrying about whether their family will eat today.

A Madrasa: 

A benefactor built a mosque, but the children still have no madrasa for their Islamic education.

Healthcare Needs: 

A basic health facility so that mothers do not have to risk their lives just to give birth, and sick children do not have to wait until morning for treatment.

Be a Part of Change for Dida Village!

Abdi Galgalo is not giving up on Dida. He is living and fighting for their village’s needs. For a school, for food and for dignity. But he cannot do it alone. We need to stand with the People of Dida Village.

The people of Dida are not asking for luxury. They are asking for survival. A well, a meal, a place to learn, and a place to heal are their basic needs. Donate for a water well and be a part of the change the people of Dida village are looking for.

You can Change a Life!

Give a gift that keeps on giving. Your contribution today brings endless rewards and a lifetime of hope to those in need.

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This story was documented during a field visit to Dida Village, Garissa County, Kenya. All quotes are from Abdi Galgalo, a community elder who continues to advocate for his people.