DEC Primary School
Project Snapshot
Country: Sierra Leone
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude 8.692467
Longitude -13.190117
Impact:
Total Served: 200
Status: Completed (?)
Completion Date (or estimate): 12/30/2010
Share this Project
The teachers participated in the hygiene education and during the installation of the pump. The children were happy with the new pump and to hear about Jesus. When the team arrived the community had been utilizing a river as their primary source of water and because of this residents were suffering from Dysentery. During the team’s stay the community assisted with the water project whenever possible and provided any materials available. The majority of community members sustain a living by farming and selling their produce at local markets. The nearest school is a Primary school located in the community whose students, teachers and administrative personnel all have access to the new, safe water source. Before leaving the community the team provided community resident Sheku A.T. Bangura with a LWI contact number incase their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.
The team had an opportunity to meet with sixty-four year old male community resident and local farmer Amara Sillah who stated, “It is very far where we fetch water and it is not safe to drink because it has a lot of sickness. The hand pump is better and it is safe for our children and it is secure for us and there is no sickness or bacteria in the water.”
It has been difficult at this school to maintain good hygiene practices because there has been no water here for quite some time. Their toilets are in disrepair, and they use pit latrines that are almost full. There is no place for the students to wash their hands with soap and water, and the team discussed this with the teachers regarding a solution for hand washing. The team trained the teachers how to make Oral Rehydration Solution and the school appeared happy to have the hygiene training and clean water. During the hygiene education the following principal issues were addressed: Disease transmission, Germs, Hand Washing- proper techniques and water saving methods, Healthy Unhealthy Communities, Oral Rehydration Solution, Proper care of the pump, Keeping the water clean, Good-bad hygiene behaviors, Disease Transmission Stories, Clean Hands Clean Hearts and Dental Hygiene.
Project Photos
Sponsors
Keiana Smith's Fundraising Page
Julie Swidler's Fundraising Page
Lance Walrad's Fundraising Page
Michael Grubich's Fundraising Page
Country Details
Sierra Leone
- Population: 9.7 Million
- Lacking clean water: 47%
- Below poverty line: 70%
- Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season; winter dry season
- Languages: English, Mende, Temne, Krio
- Ethnic Groups: 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10%
- Life Expectancy: 48 years
- Infant Mortality Rate: 155 deaths per 1000 live births
Partner Profile
Living Water International
Nearly 20 years ago, we set out to help the church in North America be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor. 600 million people in the world live on less than $2 a day. 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.
For all practical purposes, these statistics refer to the same people; around the world, communities are trapped in debilitating poverty because they constantly suffer from water-related diseases and parasites, and/or because they spend long stretches of their time carrying water over long distances.
In response to this need, we implement participatory, community-based water solutions in developing countries. Since we started, we’ve completed water projects for 7,000 communities in 26 countries.
It all began in 1990, when a group from Houston, Texas traveled to Kenya and saw the desperate need for clean drinking water. They returned to Houston and founded a 501(c)3 non-profit. The fledgling organization equipped and trained a team of Kenyan drillers, and LWI Kenya began operations the next year under the direction of a national board.
That pattern continues today; we train, consult, and equip local people to implement solutions in their own countries.
Remembering the life-changing nature of that first trip in 1990, we also lead hundreds of volunteers on mission trips each year, working with local communities, under the leadership of nationals, to implement water projects. It’s hard to know which lives are changed more—those “serving” or those “being served.”
Our training programs in shallow well drilling, pump repair, and hygiene education have equipped thousands of volunteers and professionals in the basics of integrated water solutions since 1997.
