"Providing Safe Drinking Water
for Children in East & West Africa"
The only well serving families (including 140 children from the Hope Mission School).
H2O
HOPE HELP OPTIMISM H2O
Nearly 20% of the world’s population (1.1 billion people) faces a massive public health problem – lack of clean drinking water. According to the World Health Organization, over three million people die each year from water related illnesses such as cholera, dysentery and diarrhea. An alarming 90% of deaths are children under the age of five.
Liberia used to be one of the more prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but a 14-year Civil War left much of the country’s infrastructure, including water sources and supply systems, damaged or destroyed and the majority of its population impoverished. Most rural areas of Liberia are without safe water. Even the country’s capital, Monrovia, lacks sufficient running water.
Westminster has an important connection with Liberia. We have provided funds to help build the Hope Mission School, which serves 140 students. We have also provided funds for tuition scholarships and, most recently, to erect outhouses at the school. Like much of Liberia, however, the Hope Mission School and its surrounding community do not have safe drinking water. Many of the students live with chronic intestinal problems.
There are a number of organizations [UNICEF, FACEAfrica, Living Waters for the World (Presbyterian Church (USA)) to name only a few] that address the clean drinking water crisis, not only in Africa, but on other continents as well. A small group at Westminster, tentatively named “The Water Committee”, has begun researching these organizations and other possible solutions to provide safe drinking water at the Hope Mission School. We would welcome participation by others, as well, as we explore how to solve the water crisis for the Hope Mission School and its surrounding community.
Our friend and church member, Felicia Kollie-Gambles, a refugee from Liberia, provides us with direct contact to that nation and to the school. As noted in the African Spring Dinner announcement, included in this newsletter, Felicia will describe the water situation at Hope Mission School. Won’t you join us for food, fun, games, education, and fundraising on April 2nd?
-- By Sue Barwig
HOPE HELP OPTIMISM H2O
Nearly 20% of the world’s population (1.1 billion people) faces a massive public health problem – lack of clean drinking water. According to the World Health Organization, over three million people die each year from water related illnesses such as cholera, dysentery and diarrhea. An alarming 90% of deaths are children under the age of five.
Liberia used to be one of the more prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but a 14-year Civil War left much of the country’s infrastructure, including water sources and supply systems, damaged or destroyed and the majority of its population impoverished. Most rural areas of Liberia are without safe water. Even the country’s capital, Monrovia, lacks sufficient running water.
Westminster has an important connection with Liberia. We have provided funds to help build the Hope Mission School, which serves 140 students. We have also provided funds for tuition scholarships and, most recently, to erect outhouses at the school. Like much of Liberia, however, the Hope Mission School and its surrounding community do not have safe drinking water. Many of the students live with chronic intestinal problems.
There are a number of organizations [UNICEF, FACEAfrica, Living Waters for the World (Presbyterian Church (USA)) to name only a few] that address the clean drinking water crisis, not only in Africa, but on other continents as well. A small group at Westminster, tentatively named “The Water Committee”, has begun researching these organizations and other possible solutions to provide safe drinking water at the Hope Mission School. We would welcome participation by others, as well, as we explore how to solve the water crisis for the Hope Mission School and its surrounding community.
Our friend and church member, Felicia Kollie-Gambles, a refugee from Liberia, provides us with direct contact to that nation and to the school. As noted in the African Spring Dinner announcement, included in this newsletter, Felicia will describe the water situation at Hope Mission School. Won’t you join us for food, fun, games, education, and fundraising on April 2nd?
-- By Sue Barwig
Boy carrying drinking water.
