Water relief for a Sudanese family

Case study

Increased irrigation has proved vital to the welfare and future prospects of Nima and her three sons and two daughters.

Five years ago, her husband died and she was left alone to look after her family.

Her family's land at Shangil Tobya village in Elfashir province covered five acres, of which only three received a reasonable quantity of floodwater for irrigation.

Nima managed to cultivate 1.5 acres with vegetables, tobacco and sorghum, and also sold dry products including meat, okra and chillies. But her hard work still could not cover the needs of her school-age children and she had to borrow from neighbours and receive assistance from relatives.

However, Practical Action Sudan's work with villagers on refurbishing the local dam and boosting the amount of irrigated land has worked wonders for Nima.

With relatives and neighbours helping with farm work, she has been able to cultivate around four acres of different crops, particularly tobacco and chillies, and increase her net income.

This has allowed her to repay part of the money borrowed to meet the farm's running costs, secure her family's food needs for one year, send her elder son to Elfashir University, visit the Sudanese captial Khartoum for medical treatment, and hire premises for a catering business.

More about Practical Action Sudan's work with dams and irrigation