More than 100,000 villagers in Benin will enjoy access to clean, disease-free water thanks to two Canadian aid agencies.

The Global Aid Network (GAiN) Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) announced Friday they were joining forces to establish the Benin Water Project.

Its aim is to help break the cycle of disease for villagers and empower them to continue developing their communities.

Through the three-year project, GAiN hopes to provide 105 rural villages with deep-capped water wells that will be managed by a committee who will be trained to manage the new source of clean disease-free water. Training will also be provided in hygiene, sanitation and gender equality. Family Health Teams will also be formed to promote ongoing health training that particularly focuses on maternal and child health.

GAiN's Water for Life Initiative began as a small well-drilling project in the villages of southern China and has since grown to include several nations where clean water sources are few, including Benin, southern Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Thailand.

It estimates tha over 550,000 lives have been transformed by the provision of fresh, pure water.

"Through the 550 wells we have already provided throughout Africa and Thailand, we have seen a tremendous impact in both villages and the lives of individuals," Dennis Fierbach, a spokesman for GAiN, said in a statement.