Lungi, Rosint, Church of God Prophecy Primary School
Project Snapshot
Country: Sierra Leone
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude 8.557917
Longitude -13.164767
Impact:
Total Served: 600
Status: Completed (?)
Completion Date (or estimate): 12/20/2011
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Our implementing partner reports from the field...
A LWI Sierra Leone team member stated, “This is just an incredible school and a beautiful rural community. As we walked through the bush to pay our respects to the Chief who was too ill to attend the dedication ceremony the birds were chirping and everything was so green and lush. There were beautiful gardens. It was so exciting to see the community come out in full force, literally!! There was cultural music, dancing and costumes. There was so much excitement in the air. The love was flowing so freely. Next year we will be doing an agricultural project in this community for another donor and will be using the fertilizer from this composting toilet the following year. It is truly amazing how God puts things together!” When the team arrived, families were suffering from dysentery, malaria, diarrhea and severe dehydration. During the team’s stay, community members assisted the team with the water project whenever possible. Most community members earn a living by petty trading, making palm wine, teaching, working as bankers, tailors, airport workers and other professions. There is a school located in the community whose students, teachers and administrative personnel all have access to the new, safe water source.
The LWI Sierra Leone team had an opportunity to meet with twenty year old community member and student, Juliana Sesay. Juliana was talking to me as she tried out the sinks and washed her hands with soap and water. She was so excited about this project. She said that she was a former student of this school and they never had such an opportunity as this. She is so excited for the students who are presently attending the school. She said they used the old pit latrines that had recently collapsed. She thanked The Water Project and Penson for their generosity.
The hygiene training was held in a full day training session. The LWI Sierra Leone team had previously trained the teachers at this school when the new water well was dug. They have been implementing the hygiene lessons in their classes. These teachers are really terrific. They have shown that they can handle more. They were really excited and fully participated. The teachers will train the students and the students will in turn train their communities. The goal of this project is that the community would grab hold of the importance of using a latrine and build a latrine at their homes so the community will eventually be Open Defecation Free or ODF. The students are already bringing this message out to the community and are actively using tippy taps at their school and some have already trained some community members how to make their own tippy taps. They have taken the lead. A Child Health Club is being formed and this group will take the lead on presenting the lessons to their community. A water and sanitation committee will be created for the school well. During the hygiene education, the team addressed: Disease transmission, germs, hand washing, proper water saving techniques, healthy and unhealthy communities, how to take proper care of the pump, how to keep the water clean, community mapping and identifying good and bad hygiene behaviors, clean hands and clean hearts and dental hygiene.
Project Photos
Sponsors
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.
