Blessings Through Charity
Providing Accessible Clean Water In the gambia
The Barakah Foundation, Inc. was founded in January, 2022 with the mission of helping to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, homelessness and to provide clean drinking water, through the building of wells, accessible to all, in developing countries like The Gambia and elsewhere.
Our Vision
Our goals are to dig boreholes (a deep, narrow hole in the ground, especially to locate water or oil) and to build and finish wells in various communities in The Gambia, in order for the people there to have clean drinking water; to provide food and clothing for those in need, especially families with children; and to establish socio-economic projects with the aim of helping eradicate extreme poverty in those communities.
One of the water taps to a completed well.
The Process
Nearly half of the country’s population lives in poverty. Our aim is to provide resources that allows them to thrive.
Workers using pipes, tubing and other equipment to reach water underground.
Special equipment used in an effort to reach water.
our Story
Barakah Foundation, Inc. was born when the co-founders (Lamin Touray, a native of The Gambia and his wife, Azizah Shabazz-Touray, a native of Columbia, SC, USA) were visiting The Gambia and experienced first-hand the scarcity of clean drinking water in several of the communities where they went.
Lamin was in the process of building a masjid on his father’s land in his home village when the workers ran out of water needed to make the concrete blocks for the structure. The water tap they were using had developed a mechanical problem. This really touched home for the Tourays.
Soon they took some of their own funds to begin the process of building another well, not only to have the water needed to finish the masjid, but for the hundreds of people who lived nearby, to have a water source for their various needs. Otherwise, they had to walk very long distances just to have water to cook with, bathe in, and water their plants, crops and animals.
People who could afford it had private wells, but for most, this is very costly, as the average well there costs between $4,000 to $5,000 to build, depending on the type.
When they returned to America, the Tourays decided to reach out to family and friends to see if they would like to help more communities have access to clean water. Within a few weeks, the Tourays reached their goal of obtaining the rest of the funds for the first borehole. With that success and more people asking how they could help, they decided to start the Foundation and continue building as many wells as they could.
Board of Directors:
Lamin Touray, Chairperson
Azizah Shabazz-Touray, Assistant Chairperson
G. Adilah Shabazz, Media/Marketing Director
Consultants:
Atty. Salwa Adly
Sultana Ocasio
Our work
We dig boreholes in The Gambia
We collect and give out clothing
We feed homeless people in the U.S.
We provide supplies for local schools
We distribute food
We establish & sponsor projects
Kids and adults were so excited to drink from the completed tap to the well and taste the cool water.
Barakah Foundation continues to seek donation for this important work. Shown here are posters and banners from a recent event.
The workers on the well were so excited to reach the water underground and have it strike the earth for the first time.
Hoses are placed up from the borehole, delivering water to the ground.
WHy There’s a need
World Bank Basic Statistics on The Gambia
2.4 million
Approximate Population
(the smallest country, land wise, in mainland Africa, but densely populated, about 176 people per kilometer)
48.6%
Poverty Rate
Nearly half of the local population
450 Sq. Km
Land Size
(about 280 miles), along the Gambia River; surrounded by Senegal except for a 60-km Atlantic Ocean front
$750
Per person
Per capita GNI (gross national income)
Workers prepare equipment for use in digging the borehole and constructing the well.
The above ground tank with solar panels attached in place; Barakah Foundation co-founder Lamin shakes hands with the construction co. owner as he pays him his compensation for the work and equipment. The entire process took several weeks of hard work, starts and stops, and prayers.
A worker making a step stoop and wall of blocks and tile around the tap, from where the water will be accessed.
How You can help
How you can become a Gainer for Gambia
Monetary donations big and small as well as in-kind services and other gifts such as clothing/food/furniture/household items go a long way in making lives better for your fellow human beings, plants and animals.
Therefore, we accept various donations and services, as a mean of raising additional funds, all of which go towards the building of the wells.
So far, we have built the first borehole and well and want to continue building more.
As a result of these projects, we see a need for other related services. If the Gambian women (and other family members, many of whom supply and sell produce and other daily subsistence items in the markets, streets and shops) don’t have enough water to grow their crops, they won’t be able to earn enough money to help feed their families.
With such a high poverty rate in the country, many families are not able to obtain all of the school supplies their children need. We hope to fill some of those gaps. The Foundation donates foodstuffs and some school supplies to some of those communities, and the need continues.
The Gambian people generally are a very industrious lot, meaning they do a lot with so little. Some have started their own socio-economic projects. Others, expatriates and new residents, have joined with them and/or starting their own businesses. The Foundation plans to assist in whatever way it can and will work with other notable projects.
Sample products shown only for representation and may vary.
Stay tuned for the launch of our Gift Collection direct from Gambia.
Benefits
All of this takes money, prayers and hard work. We appreciate the funding and other donations that have already been given, and look forward to additional assistance. To show our appreciation to you — ‘Gainers for Gambia’ — we offer the following:
- All major donors ($500 and above) will have the opportunity to pick a gift from our Gift Shop Collection (including authentic Motherland ware direct from The Gambia).
- All recurring monthly donors ($10 minimum) will have a similar opportunity to choose from our Gift Shop Collection in that category.
- Major sponsors (organizations, businesses, etc.) will receive a special certificate of commendation
Testimonials
The community of Touba Kolong in The Gambia was the first beneficiary of the Barakah Foundation Borehole project. Its residents are so very appreciative to have their own well. When the well was finished, this enabled the construction of the local mosque to resume. Many now use the water from the well tap for washing before prayer.
“
I used to not have been able to go to the main mosque [and wash for prayer]… it was too far. Now that the neighborhood mosque is finished, I can walk there and do all my prayers there.
”
An Elder
“
I’ve started learning Qur’an [at the new masjid]! (Prior to the opening, many of the residents could only pray in their homes.)
”
Community Member in the Gambia
“
I used to be afraid to go in the dark for fajr prayer. Now that the mosque is so close, I get up and go there.
”
a Touba Kolong youth
historical Significance
It’s noteworthy that the first well built by the Foundation is so close to the historic Kunta Kinteh (James) Island, where tens of thousands of Gambians and other West Africans were forcibly kept during the TransAtlantic slave trade, and thrown aboard slave ships, taken throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, and parts unknown. Those in the diaspora can make a better present and future for Gambians and residents there, and one way is to provide them with clean and accessible water.
Gambia River waters surround Kunta Kinte Island; Gambians and American visitors on their way to the island; A plaque on a large rock on the island, showing the original layout of the fortress with huts and other quarters built by the captives.
This work of Barakah Foundation, Inc. is on-going. As a result, more communities will be in line to benefit from the work for many years to come, God Willing.