Bentol, Montserrado County — In a remarkable display of commitment in working to provide water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in rural communities in Liberia, FACE Africa International, a US & Liberia based non-for-profit organization, has dedicated and turned over 71 completed household latrines and seven clean water pumps to six communities in rural Bentol, Montserrado County over the past 12 months.
By Yawah Y. Jaivey
The projects were implemented under the auspices of several donors, including the Well-Built Foundation (founded by NBA player Malcom Brogdon and his wife, Victoria Brogdon), Murphy’s Naturals, the National Basketball Players Association Foundation, Abigail Disney & Pierre Hauser, the Niraj Bhatia Foundation, Carole Dubois, Nyema Tubman, Georgie Badiel Foundation, and Rotary Club of Santa Monica (USA) & Monrovia (Liberia).
During the dedicatory event held on May 29, 2024 in rural Bentol, Montserrado County, FACE Africa’s Field Program Manager, Samuel Gorgbor, providing an overview of the project, disclosed that since the inception of his organization’s works in Liberia, it has been focused on River Cess County, where it built over 150 hand pumps and public latrines facilities for the locals.
Through FACE Africa’s rigorous monitoring and evaluation program, Mr. Gorgbor said that they learned that the beneficiaries in River Cess County were not taking full responsibility to properly maintain the communal latrines. This learning triggered FACE Africa to change its approach from building latrines general community latrine blocks, to constructing latrines for individual households in its new project locations of rural Montserrado and Margibi Counties.
He disclosed that FACE Africa, as part of the first phase of the implementation the WASH projects in rural Montserrado County, constructed 31 modern household latrines, equipped with hand-wash stations and drilled three new boreholes in three towns, including Nyankorlor, Fahn Taylor and Nyema.
As part of their second phase of the project, FACE Africa erected 40 more household latrines in Getelleh Town, Kpakillah Town and Nenth Town—and completed 4 clean water pumps in those communities. During this phase, they piloted a new hand wash station design on 40 latrines, which includes rainwater harvesting for washing and pour flushing. Gorgbor said that “Due to climate change, the heavy rain in Liberia continues to become destructive for homes, and good water is being wasted. These new systems help to reduce the burden on the hand pumps for drinking, but providing a source of rain water for non-drinking purposes such as flushing”.
“Every family is having one latrine. We don’t want people having issues with care taking or ownership. So, every household has one toilet facility”, he revealed.
Also speaking, Sylvia N. Solo, FACE Africa’s Health & Hygiene Training Coordinator, expressed the importance of women and youth participation in the FACE Africa projects. “When you educate a man, you educate a family. When you educate a woman, you educate a nation” she expressed. She disclosed that her organization dedicated sufficient time in establishing 6 community WASH committees since last year, each composed of between 20 and 25 community residents. Each committee was trained for eight weeks in the areas of health, nutrition, vaccinations, hygiene, financial management, sustainability and maintenance. FACE Africa has a mandate that each committee must have at least a 50% representation of women because women’s leadership and empowerment is a large focus of the organization. Youth involvement is also encouraged, and this year saw the youngest graduate from the WASH training program yet, at just 11 years old.
Sylvia added that FACE Africa’s maintenance and financial management training for the locals was intended to ensure the longevity of the hand pumps and latrine facilities. The local WASH committee members are now equipped with financial preparedness, as well as the necessary skills and know-how to sustain their own projects. “They are now adept at conducting routine inspections and minor repairs, safeguarding the functionality of water and sanitation facilities in their respective communities for years to come” she assured.
During the ceremony, held at the Youth Camp, Gomoshu Clan. The 69 WASH committee members (43 of them being women) were bestowed with certificates for successfully completing their intensive two-months training.
During the ceremony, FACE Africa Chief Operating Officer, Pauline Egan, spoke about the importance of partnership and collaboration with communities and stakeholders in the long term sustainability of the program. She thanked the local FACE Africa team, for continuing to sacrifice so much while living away from their families full time during each 2 month program. Egan also emphasized the importance of the community’s input in the design and constant improvement of the programs. “We are constantly learning from you, you are not only our students, but we are also your students” she said in her speech to the graduates.
For her part, FACE Africa International Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Saran Kaba Jones, expressed her gratitude towards the residents of the beneficiary communities for their active participation and collaboration throughout the project. Mrs. Jones commended their dedication to improving their living conditions and emphasized the importance of community engagement in sustainable development efforts.
At the dedicatory event, Mrs. Jones reflected on FACE Africa’s longstanding commitment to WASH initiatives, spanning over 15 years. While the organization initially focused its efforts in RiverCess County, she explained that the decision to extend its reach to rural Margibi and Montserrado Counties underscored the organization’s mission to address the urgent need for improved WASH infrastructure in underserved communities across Liberia.
“We recognized the need all over the country and our goal is to go where the need is. So, this is not our last stop; it is just part of the journey”, Mrs. Jones stated.
While emphasizing the importance of the provision of safe drinking water for all Liberians, Mrs. Jones said, “water is life, water is health, water is everything”.
FACE Africa International Chief Executive Officer, however, admonished the benefiting communities’ residents to make the utmost use of the projects and ensure that they are properly maintained in order to encourage the donors to continue to help them and other communities yet to benefit with funding.
In delivering their responses, the WASH committees’ members of Kpakillah, Getelleh and Nenth Towns expressed gratitude to FACE Africa for providing them with knowledge and tools, they even performed drama to help educate their community members about the importance of good WASH practices. They said the knowledge and skills acquired will go a long way in promoting good health and hygiene practices amongst community members and maintaining the newly dedicated WASH facilities in their respective communities.
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