Water is the foundation
In Norway we turn the tap without a second thought. In Kemoto, clean drinking water is scarce, and without a stable water source it is impossible to secure good health, hygiene and safe food production. When the women and children no longer have to spend hours fetching water, they can go to school or work instead.
A new well and twin pumps
Because the river surrounds Kemoto on both sides, the groundwater in the village is salty. The clean water has to be fetched 2.6 kilometres away.
In the winter of 2026 we drilled a brand-new well and installed a larger pump. The new and the old well now pump water up to the tower through independent systems, doubling the water supply.
2,100 watts of clean solar energy
We installed 4 new solar panels totalling 1,800 W and mounted 3 older 100 W panels. Every connection has been checked, tidied and earthed for maximum safety.
The result: the water tanks are now full at sunset, and the residents have access to clean water around the clock.
Maintenance on the village's terms
We have cleaned the tanks, cleared out old electrical wiring and set up a dedicated local maintenance team with a fixed inspection schedule.
Essa Touray, also known as Berres, has received thorough training and is now in charge of all electrical maintenance. We don't just build the systems, we make sure the village owns and masters them itself.
One kilometre dug by hand
The old pipes were too thin, and many were leaking. We emptied our fund to buy new pipes. It was enough for exactly one kilometre.
Then something remarkable happened: all the men of the village, and former residents who could help, gathered and dug down the first kilometre by hand, from the tower towards the village.
The final push: 1.6 kilometres and a generator
The fund is nearly empty, but the residents stand ready with their shovels. Several houses have already laid water pipes all the way to their walls, so the pressure in the old pipes has to go up. The final push is budgeted at 450,000 dalasi, around NOK 58,000, including an excavator for an extra-deep 400-metre trench through the hill along the way.
Photos from the project
Join the handshake
Right Hand is run 100 % by volunteers. Nobody takes a salary, and there are no administration costs. What you give becomes pipes, medicine, electricity and schooling, not middlemen. Every purchase is documented with a receipt in our open books.
From a cup of coffee to a metre of pipe: everything counts, and everything arrives. Vipps is a Norwegian mobile payment service; from abroad, please email us.