Due to political conflict, hundreds of thousands of people had to leave their homes in northern Mali in the last decade. Many have since returned to their home but struggle to regain their livelihoods. In the Timbuktu region, food insecurity is very high and 15 percent of children under 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition. Goundam, one of the administrative districts of the Timbuktu region, is populated by livestock farmers. Among the previously displaced people, many have lost all their livestock, and with that their traditional means of livelihood.

Now the journey takes Alphonsine 30 minutes. She and other rural women now have access to clean water to irrigate their crops and to use at home. With the cooperation of the UN's joint project 'Rural Women Economic Empowerment '(Rwee), implememted by four UN agencies, FAO built a spring catchment tap for the Nkabikorera Cooperative in the Ngoma district which significantly decreased the amount of time to collect water for nine surrounding villages.