Kouki, a village of almost 2,000 inhabitants, located in the prefecture of Ouham, in the North-East of Central African Republic, is crossed by the Viba River, which divides it in two: the village on one side, and the fields on the other. Until the latest rainy season, the major means of communication between the two sides was a semi-permanent bridge.
But the violent rainy season seriously damaged the Kouki Bridge, only made out of wood and creepers. In consequence, the transportation of people and goods to the weekly market of Kouki was substantially compromised. Also, the inhabitants of Kouki were themselves isolated from the surrounding communities. To transport their goods, mostly cotton, millet and sorghum, to the neighbouring markets, they had to go through a 22 kilometres detour, a 3 hours long trip.
In 2 months, ACTED rehabilitated the bridge, now built in concrete, thus guaranteeing a sustainable access to Kouki. This project was achieved with the support of the Common Humanitarian Fund of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The rehabilitation of this bridge will allow the opening-up of Kouki, while favouring both its agricultural exportations, as well as the visit of its weekly market by people coming from neighbouring villages. In addition, this bridge will allow the humanitarian agencies and organisations an easy access to this zone to respond to the needs of the local populations.