Twelve years ago, Domebera Somda, his wife and their oldest son arrived in Vermont from their native Burkina Faso through the US Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the green card lottery.

“As a lottery applicant, you need to have someone in America who will welcome you to the country,” Somda explains.

His friend Jacob Borgre, who heads the Association of Africans Living in Vermont, sponsored the Somdas and the family settled down in Chittenden County to build new a life.

This spring Somda graduated from UVM master’s of public administration program, with an emphasis on community resilience and planning. Now he is poised to return to his homeland as a Clinton Global University fellow.

Somda explains Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in Western Africa, faces many challenges including high poverty rates and desertification due to climate change.

“One of the biggest problems there is access to clean water. Surface water that collects in unprotected wells is not potable.”

For many generations, he says, women and girls have had to walk to sources of clean water and carry it home. It can require a round trip of up to six miles. This time-consuming and physically exhausting practice detracts from the time women might otherwise spend on schoolwork or economically productive activities.

Somda has learned that when a problem looks too big, you just need to start small.

He wrote a successful application to the Clinton Global Initiative University outlining his proposal to dig safe wells and a establish community gardens to raise vegetables in the rural municipality of Koper. The harvests will provide nutritious food to the families in the host villages and neighboring communities and the proceeds could fund other community needs.

“This project ties in with the purpose of my degree,” Somda says. “I wanted to give back to my native community in some way. When I found out about the CGI U I thought this would be the best opportunity.”

The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) was established by former president Bill Clinton to challenge students to create “new, specific, and measurable initiatives that address pressing challenges.”

Somda’s project has three phases: drilling new wells to bring drinkable water to homes; planting the community gardens; and installing a small storage tower that uses solar technology to supply and distribute the water.

CGI U will provide key mentoring and technical assistance, but as the creator of the project Somda essentially serves as his own CEO and chief fundraiser. His wife Nibeenwour Alice Somda will help plan the garden projects.

“I established a Go-Fund-me campaign,” Somda said. “The scope of the project is to provide water to this one area but we hope it’s an idea that can catch on.”

Somda has advantages many of his countrymen lack. In Burkina Faso he earned his bachelor’s degree and a master’s in secondary education and teaching. He taught philosophy in secondary school for over 10 years there.

It has been 6 years since he visited his home country and he is looking forward to many joyful reunions this summer. He’s also bringing with him the expertise gained from his UVM degree and the resources behind CGI U.

“My dream is bringing community action to life,” he said.