All this week we’ve been telling you about our partnership with Whitney Port and FACE Africa on a critical campaign to bring life-saving clean water to a community in Liberia. Now we’ve got some good news and some better news.
With your help, our stories were shared almost 16,000 times and we raised over and above the $5,000 needed to construct a well and a hand pump in greater Monrovia. Construction will last just a few weeks and will result in a continuous source of clean water for hundreds of people for decades. Community leaders will be trained in well maintenance, so it’s likely the well will continue to provide clean water for the rest of their lives.
If you were among the thousands of people who joined in this effort, someone will likely stay alive thanks to you. That’s no overstatement.
The World Health Organization has estimated that one in five deaths in Liberia are caused by water and sanitation issues. Water-borne illnesses like cholera, diarrhea and typhoid decimate communities with no way to avoid them, and they hit children particularly hard. Luckily, these diseases are incredibly preventable.
Saran Kaba Jones, the founder of FACE Africa, is travelling to her native Liberia on Saturday to oversee the newest project in a village in an area called Fendall. “The pump and well will benefit about 200 people for at least 20 years,” she says.
It will mean better health for men, women and children by curbing the spread of water-borne illnesses. It will also mean less stress on the women and children, Jones added, since they’re the ones responsible for fetching water from a creek or a river. “Women don’t have to walk miles to fetch water from the river, and children can spend more time at school or play,” she said.
Inspired by the generosity of first-time donors, she has set a goal of five or six FACE Africa projects next year.
Photos courtesy of FACE Africa.