Turkish aid organizations deliver clean water to 20 million


Date posted: August 22, 2013

NİHAT POLAT, İSTANBUL

As Turkey continues to help struggling African countries, many Turkish aid foundations are working to resolve Africa’s long-standing water supply problem by digging wells in countries across the continent. So far more than 20 million people in Africa and elsewhere have gained access to clean water thanks to the humanitarian work of Turkish aid foundations.

Drought, a common occurrence in Africa, is one of the main causes of the continent’s chronic shortage of potable water. According to the UN Development Programme, 4,900 children die every day worldwide due sanitation problems and contaminated water.

Through their aid campaigns in African countries, Turkish foundations have dug thousands of wells in Africa.

The aid foundations have said that they have been working on well projects in Africa for many years in a bid to prevent deaths caused by water stress in the region.

A water well takes between three and six months to sink and costs between $3,000 and $80,000, depending on the region and the depth of the well.

So far, the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH) has drilled 2,512 wells in Africa while the Cansuyu Solidarity and Charity Foundation has drilled 695 wells in Asian and African countries. The Turkish foundation Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has drilled 451 water wells and the Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) association has drilled 152. As a result of these efforts, a total of 20 million people in Africa and Asia now have access to clean drinking water.

The İHH has drilled water wells in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kashmir and Kyrgyzstan.

The Cansuyu foundation has drilled wells in Somalia, Niger, Ethiopia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Liberia, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.

Kimse Yok Mu has drilled wells in Somalia, Niger, Sudan, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Chad and Pakistan, but the foundation’s goal is to drill wells in over 20 African countries.

Donors to these foundations can choose to cover the full expense of a water well or just a part of the cost. Turkish women have been organizing fundraisers to collect money for water projects in Africa.

Source: Today's Zaman , August 21, 2013

Tags: | |


Related News

Erdogan: A saint elsewhere, outside Turkey’s shores?

On a recent trip to Spain, I picked a copy of the International New York Times, and saw a story that shocked me greatly. It said Mr Erdogan had ordered the release of 38,000 prisoners serving various jail terms, for different offences, in order to make space for the so-called coup plotters who had no space in Turkey’s overflowing prison. I was totally shocked by the news because I can’t imagine a situation where convicted criminals are being set free just so political opponents can be locked up.

“Somalis will remember your aid”

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation continues its efforts to meet the water, hot meal, clothing and medication needs in Somalia, stricken with terror and famine. The foundation’s school in the capital Mogadishu and scholarships too are aimed at securing a better future for Somalis.

Donate your qurban, bring joy to families in need

USA-based Embrace Relief Organization is organizing an Eid Al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) campaign to distribute your “livestock donations” to the needy across the globe. Embrace has been organizing this campaign every year for many year.

Erdoğan’s African mission and dismantling Turkish schools

How do Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s repeated calls for the closure of Turkish schools located on the African continent, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, serve Turkish national interests? It appears that in his fight against a “parallel structure,” which he equates with institutions and people inspired by the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, the current Turkish president is losing a sense of direction.

Kimse Yok Mu aid delivered to the Afghan flood victims

The aid raised by Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) for the 580 flood victims in Sarobi district of Afghanistan has been recently delivered to those in need. In cooperation with the local Afghan-Turkish schools and Afghan-Turk Industrialists and Businessmen Association (ATSIAD), the 580 families were also distributed food aid of floor and oil. “The Surobi district of […]

Interview with Kimse Yok Mu Foundation’s President Ismail Cingoz

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation (KYM) President Ismail Cingoz spoke on Turkey’s helping hand extending to the world: “We involve approximately 10 thousand volunteers in our efforts. We have 97 thousand families that we have been consistently providing aid for. We are active in 103 countries regardless of their ethnicity, language, faith or color.” We talked […]

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Islam and Peace: Oxymoron or perfect match?

A bridge from the US to the Turkic world

Open Letter to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)

Nigerian instability not a current threat for Turkish community

Which is the bigger threat, Turkey’s coup or Erdogan’s response?

Gulenists dismissed, purged, and tortured: Canadian Immigration Board

Arrested After Giving Birth: Turkey’s Post-coup Crackdown Reportedly Hits Maternity Wards

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News