Water for Life

The board of Africa Education Partnership recently decided to fund the drilling of a well at each of the school sites, where there is no access to clean drinking water. We have discovered that there is a direct link between clean water and student health/education. Having access to clean, safe water for drinking and sanitation can make a difference between life and death.

Health
A good education begins with access to safe water and proper sanitation. Children who are unable to procure safe drinking water often suffer from various gastrointestinal diseases, leading to absenteeism. Dr. Uche Ewelike, a public health expert in Nigeria, said that Nigerians who lack access to safe drinking water are exposed to such water borne diseases as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. Some of these diseases result in high mortality rate among the population; children are especially affected.

Girls' Education
Lack of access to potable water disproportionately negatively affects the education of girls, often preventing them from attending school, as they are expected to aid their mothers in water retrieval and household chores.
“In many cases, young women drop out of school when they reach puberty because of a lack of privacy or separate female facilities. Over half of the girls in sub-Saharan Africa who drop out of primary school do so because of poor water and sanitation facilities. Improved latrines, hand-in-hand with adequate access to safe water, can significantly improve attendance at schools, especially for girls.”

Africa Education Partnership is making a difference.
With your help and with grants from the the Avon-Canton Rotary Club, Africa Education Partnership has changed this situation in two Nigerian communities. In Gusau, Zamfara State, we have funded the drilling of a well that serves both Graceland International School and Graceland Hospital (a joint effort with Kateri Medical Services). A new well has just been drilled at Kogum River Nursery/Primary School in Kafanchan. This well will serve the school and the wider community.

Oh happy day
“Today is a happy day, . . . both the Kogum River community and school have a source of clean drinking water. Before they had to go down to the river and fetch unsafe, polluted water for drinking and domestic use, in the same place that their animals also drink.
All thanks to Africa Education Partnership and our friends in the USA.  God bless you all.”
Bishop Markus M. Dogo

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Sources:
​https://allafrica.com/stories/201704030185.html
​https://lifewater.org/blog/water-education/