Brasília, June 22, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The 11 states that comprise the semi-arid region will receive another 25.5 thousand cisterns, on top of the nearly 18 thousand already built with federal funds since last July for the benefit of around 90 thousand people. The new target is made possible by the renewal of a convenant between the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation and the Coordination of the Semi-Arid Region (ASA).

The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), a Zero Hunger partner, financed the construction of an additional 10 thousand water storage units and is analyzing the formalization of a new convenant with the ASA.

Caritas of Brazil, one of the ASA's member organizations, has already built 275 cisterns in the municipality of Coronel José Dias, in the state of Piauí (PI). "Water is a big problem for us. We go a long way to fetch it, sometimes from other people's property. At times it was okay with the owners; other times, not, a whole lot of complaining. Now we all have a cistern," affirms the farmer, Petronila Antunes.

Besides providing the physical labor to construct the concrete slab cisterns, the groups that form the ASA orient the families to treat the stored water with inexpensive, easily available products. The families also participate in activities designed to reclaim citizenship and receive information on how to cope with the semi-arid conditions - how to store and plant seeds, for example.

With the renovation of the agreement, 1,920 masons will be trained in cistern-construction techniques. Another 960 young people will learn how to built hand pumps, while 48 administrators and coordinators will attend courses on the management of government funds, accounting procedures, and the coordination of project teams.

The Ministry will spend over US$ 11.8 million (R$ 37 million) in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe. To assure that the resources are used correctly, the ASA possesses a System of Information, Management, and Audit (Siga), which provides on-line access to all the data and reports referring to the execution of the project. Every cistern has a Delivery Document, with the control number, location of the project, construction date, and a photograph of the family next to the cistern.

Translator: David Silberstein