Compassion International Child Development Center TZ452 Tanzania Africa: Child Survival Program

March 4, 2023 by Leave a Comment

$6500: Funded 8/25/2022. Completed Fall 2022

WHO/WHERE

8 Babies and their mothers at TZ452 in Tanzania Africa

WHY

Malnutrition is an underlying cause in more than a third of all deaths of children under 5 (UNICEF). These deaths can be attributed to stunting, severe wasting and restricted growth inside the womb. But most of these deaths can be prevented through proven and simple interventions. With this in mind, the Survival program incorporates several key services to preserve the physical well-being of these precious little ones:

  • Therapeutic feeding services.
  • Education on preparing healthy, balanced meals.
  • Provision of food packs that include essential nutrition and vitamin supplements.
  • Promotion of exclusive breast feeding for the first six months of life.
  • Regular monitoring of each baby’s height and weight.

Additionally, a healthy birth weight is critical to a baby’s survival and malnutrition prevention. By also focusing on caregiver nutrition through prenatal care and nutritious food, newborns registered with Survival have up to a 30% better likelihood of having a normal birth weight.

The health of mothers and newborns is intricately related. Because of this, Compassion church partners provide prenatal care to give expectant moms and their babies the support they need for a safe and healthy birth. Mothers are able to attend prenatal medical appointments, when in the past they could never have considered such an expense. They also receive transportation to their local health center or hospital so they can keep those appointments. If their pregnancy has proceeded smoothly, skilled
birth attendants guide and support them through the birthing process. Mothers who develop complications are connected to advanced medical care (including surgery, if necessary). After the babies arrive, the program gifts the new moms with baskets full of hygiene supplies and newborn necessities. All of this is possible through your generous giving!

GROWING AS A CAREGIVER THROUGH THE CHILD SURVIVAL PROGRAM

TESTIMONY

Dear Friends, 

I hope you are in good health. My family and I are all healthy, and we see God fighting for us in our daily lives. I thank God for you. You have been a blessing in our church and especially to mothers like me.  When I was growing up, I didn’t know what salvation was and did not believe in God or go to church. I lived with my grandmother before I got married. Life was not very good, and we sometimes went to bed hungry. We could not afford medical treatment. I had to leave school after seventh grade because my grandmother could not pay my school fees. My grandmother encouraged me to get married, and I married someone who was also poor. When I got pregnant, we could not afford health services.

I was able to enroll in the Survival program at my husband’s church, and from there my life began to change in all aspects – spiritual, physical, emotional, economic and even social. After joining the Survival program, I began to grow spiritually. I was taught to pray and to read and live the Word of God. I decided to be saved and follow Jesus.

My economic life has changed a lot through this program as we have been empowered with various entrepreneurship trainings that have helped me to become self-sufficient. We have learned to raise various animals including chickens and goats. I have also received training in good nutrition, and we have been given baby clothes as well as food and nutritious for our family. We have the opportunity to do regular health checkups and have received education on family planning and breastfeeding. With better nutrition, my baby is progressing very well.

My future hope is to be able to have more livestock such as goats, cattle and poultry, as well as to have a large farm to provide enough food for my family. I dream to see my child succeed in education and spiritual life and to see my community prosper. I hope to continue to grow and touch others’ lives as well.

“My life has been transformed so much through this program that the community around me wants to know what God is doing in my life through this ministry.”

I am grateful to God because my life has been transformed so much through this program that the community around me wants to know what God is doing in my life through this ministry. They know only God can change a person’s life. I pray God blesses you abundantly for your gift!

Letter edited for clarity.

TESTIMONY

Dear Friends, 

I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ and hope you are in good health. I thank God for the life we have today and for your support of the Survival program in our community. Before joining this program, I did not have a good relationship with God because I grew up not being able to pray or read God’s Word. I did not have many friends or knowledge of how to develop myself in life. Physically, I grew weak because we did not have enough food in our home and could not get good medical care when we needed it. 

After I got married, I got pregnant and received the chance to join the Survival program. From then on, my life began to change in all aspects. I began to grow spiritually by being taught the Word of God, and I learned how to pray and read the Bible. I have also been taught ways to become economically self- sufficient. The center helped me to start a small business raising chickens at my home.

Through the program, we have also received training on good nutrition, and we have been given food packages and nutritious food for our children. We have been supported with medical treatment when we have health problems, and we also receive regular checkups and education on topics such as breastfeeding and safe birth control.

Most of all, I thank God because through this program my life has grown so much. I have been able to make so many friends, and we serve together so my loneliness is completely gone. Even the community is now interested in knowing what God is doing in my life through this program. I face so many challenges in life, but with every challenge, I pray to God so that he can lead me to overcome them.

My big vision is to become a great business woman, to see my child succeed at great levels, and also to serve God to the highest standards. Thank you so much for your support, and please pray for God to give me more strength and confidence in serving him.

“Through this program my life has grown so much –My big vision is to become a great business woman, to see my child succeed at great levels, and to serve God to the highest standards.”

Caregivers are pictured here with chickens they received from the Survival program. Chickens provide manure for farming and eggs for eating and selling, providing an important means of financial support for families. Thank you for partnering with us and helping us achieve economic stability. 

Filed Under: Past Projects

2020:FILL THE STADIUM

December 27, 2020 by Leave a Comment

While providing access to clean drinking water in partnership with Compassion International is at the heart of what we do, the COVID-19 pandemic has redirected our efforts for 2020.   Typically, Compassion International serves more than 2 million children in 25 countries however because of the pandemic and consequent cancellation of 1,200 events, approximately 70,000 children remain unsponsored (i.e. looking for a sponsor).  These children and their families live hand to mouth, and with jobs lost because of the pandemic–there is no food.  A recent study from the United Nations Children Fund and others found that pandemic-related hunger could cause 10,000 child deaths every month.  This is unacceptable. In response to this crisis, all donations to Hydrex Philanthropic this year will go to ‘FILL THE STADIUM’, an initiative where we can stand in the gap by providing food, medical care, and support for 70,000 children – a stadium’s worth.

Every $500 (one stadium seat) will provide each child with one year of:
• Food for the entire family
• Hygiene kits
• Medical care
• Child protection
• Family support
• Emergency care
• Spiritual Guidance

Rather than spending money on “stuff” this season that will soon be used up, broken, or forgotten, please consider helping to save someone’s life. It would be an unforgettable Christmas gift for a child in need. Whether you purchase a wristband for $20, a Hydrex watch for $500, or make a tax-deductible donation, every dollar counts. This pledge drive ends on December 24, 2020 at midnight.

May God bless you for your consideration and generosity.

Filed Under: Past Projects

Compassion International Child Development Center TZ104: Monduli Province, Tanzania

November 13, 2018 by Leave a Comment

$20,618.94 Funded 12/24/2018. Completed Fall 2019

WHO
289 underserved children, their families, caregivers, and educators.

WHERE
Compassion International Monduli Child Development Center TZ104 is located in Monduli Province, a rural region in Tanzania about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Arusha.

WHY
This remote location poses many serious challenges to the children enrolled at the center, mostly due to this lack of reliable, safe water. The quality of the public water service in this region of the country is not only poor, but the supply itself is also only available once a week and in very small quantities. This forces staff members to purchase water from local suppliers at the price of 50 000 Tanzanian Shillings ($22 USD) per month–a high cost for a community where 90 percent of people live below the international poverty line of $1.25 USD per day.

In the past, during Tanzania’s seasonal rainstorms, staff members have dug trenches around the center to contain as much water as possible. However, these trenches posed many problems. First, they could only retain water for a limited time. Second, they were uncovered and, thus, exposed to various contaminants–mostly from the livestock nearby.

Of all of these negative factors, the poor water quality is the worst because it leads to water-related health issues such as diarrhea, parasites and skin rashes among children and adults alike. These not only negatively impact the physical health of those affected, but they also hinder participation in the Compassion program, worship services, and other community events at TAG Monduli church, the church partner, which has around 700 members. Until now, this lack of a reliable source of safe water is holding these 289 children back from ultimately becoming the responsible, fulfilled adults that God created them to be.

The solution which will not only directly meet the needs of this center, but also to write a new story for the future of this community is the installation of a 141,000-liter (37,248-gallon) water catchment and storage tank onsite. After a period of research, this was identified as a better option than drilling a borehole to access groundwater due to the impossibility of drilling in the area.

This new tank will change all of that by providing a reliable way to safely collect and store a large amount of water, which will be used for drinking, food preparation, sanitation facilities, and equipment cleaning. Once this initiative is complete, we anticipate a reduction of water¬related health issues among enrolled children, an increase in the church attendance of the parents of enrolled children, an improvement in the health and hygiene of the families of enrolled children and an increase in the program attendance of the enrolled children.

More broadly, we hope that this initiative will not only facilitate a new culture of health within this community but that it will also provide a sense of dignity to the children and adults in the community that can so easily be lost without access to something so fundamental as safe water.

WHAT:
TOTAL PROJECT AMOUNT:  $22,199.51

TOTAL NEED LOCAL CONTRIBUTION GRANT REQUESTED
Construction Materials $21,050.31 $1,364.05 $19,686.26
Water Pump Cage $266.48 $0 $266.48
Labor $882.72 $215.50 $666.20
Totals $22,199.51 $1,580.55 $20,618.94

HOW
PLEASE JOIN US
Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request. Your contribution will not only help provide the gift of good health and a healthy future for Ghanaian children in need but will also serve as a tangible and powerful expression of God’s love for them.
Friends, we are grateful for your heart for “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40) -it inspires us to continue our work of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Filed Under: Past Projects

Compassion International Child Development Centers GH0754, Ghana (Africa)

October 11, 2017 by Leave a Comment

$26,489.00: Funded Dec 24, 2017, Completed Fall 2018

Thank you for partnering with Compassion to improve the lives of children at the Anomabo Child Development Center in Ghana. Your generous gift will provide new bathroom facilities and hygiene education that will safeguard the health of thousands of children in the coming years, taking them a crucial step further on their journey out of poverty.

Every day in the developing world, more than 800 children die because they do not have access to adequate sanitation or safe water. Thousands more fall ill, miss school and suffer needlessly. In particular, open defecation and poor handwashing habits put children at risk of waterborne illnesses such as cholera, diarrhea and bacterial meningitis. Providing access to improved sanitation facilities and hygiene education is fundamental to saving children’s lives and releasing them from poverty. Compassion’s WaSH interventions have an immediate and long-lasting impact, making children stronger, healthier and better equipped to succeed in life.

SANITATION AND POVERTY WaSH QUICK FACTS
• Globally, 2.3 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation facilities, and nearly 1 billion are forced to defecate in the open.
• 85 percent of Ghanaians lack access to adequate sanitation.
• 16 percent of rural Ghanaians do not have a reliable source of safe drinking water.
• Nearly one in four Ghanaians live below the poverty line.
• 66 is the average life expectancy for Ghanaians.

In Ghana, access to simple and basic sanitation facilities has been a challenge for many households. According to WaterAid, 23 million people don’t have access to improved sanitation in Ghana. As a result, about 4,000 children under five years die annually from poor water and sanitation. Anomabo Child Development Center, located in a fishing community in the central region of Ghana, is no exception. The registered children, workers and volunteers at this center have been forced to resort to unhygienic and unapproved methods when it comes to attending to nature’s call. The existing, dilapidated public toilets are not child-friendly and do not provide separate facilities for boys and girls, putting girls at further risk. As a result, some children are now adopting open defecation. The leadership of the church are concerned that children have picked up this unhealthy habit and know that if left unchecked, this will pollute the environment and could create fertile grounds for the spread of related diseases like cholera.

Also, although these beneficiaries have been taught the importance of proper hand washing after using the toilet and or playing on the field, the current handwashing facility provided is inadequate for the number of children. Moreover, the church is unable to provide a bigger reservoir that can store water for use by all the children during curriculum meeting days. This situation is posing as a threat to the health and safety of the children especially, as well as the workers and volunteers.

To address this urgent and critical need, the church leadership have secured land where an adequate toilet facility can be constructed. When finished, this construction project will provide children and staff members at the center with an eight-seater toilet, two shower rooms, a water tank and four handwashing sinks. Additionally, children and adults will be educated on safe hygiene and sanitation practices. With your help, leadership at the center can execute their strategy for completing this project.

Project milestones include:
• contract a construction team of artisans to complete the work
• purchase necessary materials
• oversee the construction of the facility
• conduct education on sanitation and hygiene
• continued monitoring, evaluation, and reporting

TOTAL PROJECT AMOUNT:  $28,402

BUDGET SUMMARY                                 US                             LOCAL                            TOTAL
Land Clearing $1,208 $813 $395
Material Costs $17,934 $64 $17,870
Construction and Artisan Labor $6,745 $693 $6,052
Education and Training $2,525 $343 $2,172
Totals $28,402 $1,913 $26,489

PLEASE JOIN US
Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request. Your contribution will not only help provide the gift of good health and a healthy future for Ghanaian children in need but will also serve as a tangible and powerful expression of God’s love for them.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” MATTHEW 25:40, NIV

Filed Under: Past Projects

Compassion International Child Development Centers TG203, TG208, & TG671.

November 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment

togo-map

THE CONCERN: Inadequate and unsafe drinking water at 3 Child Development Centers in Togo. Need: $66,546

 
$66,546: Funded December 24, 2015. Completed Fall 2016

Your gift helped transform the well-being and health of 915 Compassion-assisted children, their families, and their caregivers.  The funds you donated, combined with the gifts of other caring friends, enabled the three church-based Compassion centers these children attend, located northwest of the capital city of Lomé, to drill deep borehole wells. More importantly, you provided the children something they have never had before — access to abundant, safe water and the promise it provides of a bright and healthy future!

There are a few wells in the communities targeted by this project, but they are far from the Compassion centers, and the lines to collect water are unbearably long. Additionally, for Saturday activities hosted at the center, volunteers prepare by spending all day Friday collecting and hauling water. But even then there is not enough water to meet Saturday’s needs: The children cannot wash their hands before meals or after visiting the toilet, and there is not enough to drink to stay hydrated during the games. Volunteers cooking the children’s meals often run short of water, which also makes properly cleaning the center facilities impossible. Worse still, the water is often unsafe, leading to illness among the children. Recently, the three centers reported 54 cases of  waterborne illness, including life-threatening cholera. Diseases also affect children’s school attendance.

The staff members have to spend a significant portion of their budget to treat these preventable illnesses — funds that could be better spent on expanded learning and development opportunities for the children.

The children’s home situations are another detriment to their health. In most cases their families’ source of water is contaminated and located a significant distance away. The time-consuming, physically taxing job of collecting water often falls to the children, and their caregivers have little understanding of the principles of good hygiene, sanitation and the prevention of waterborne diseases.

With your help and the help of others, this dire situation can be turned around — not only for the children currently served by these three Compassion centers, but for countless more to be served in the future. Expected to take 16 months, this life- changing initiative will accomplish the following at each center:

  • a borehole well site selected
  • task force committee appointed and a drilling expert hired
  • bids from drilling companies solicited and the most reputable and competitive selected
  • a deep borehole well drilled and an electric pump installed
  • a concrete tower constructed and a high- capacity water storage tank installed
  • water supply lines connected
  • a hand-washing station constructed
  • 915 Compassion-assisted children and 874 caregivers trained in proper

hygiene and sanitation practices as well as waterborne disease awareness and prevention

  • water made available to families in the community for a reasonable price (using the funds collected to maintain the well)

TOTAL PROJECT AMOUNT:  $66,546

BUDGET SUMMARY                             US                       LOCAL                       TOTAL
Land $582 $582 $0
Construction and Material Costs $60,643 $55 $60,588
Training $2,266 $0 $2,266
Supervision and Monitoring $3,692 $0 $3,692
Totals $67,183 $637 $66,546

Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request. Your contribution will not only help provide the gift of good health and a healthy future for Togolese children in need but will also serve as a tangible and powerful expression of God’s love for them.

Filed Under: Past Projects

Compassion International Child Development Center: TG621 Tonoukouti, Togo (Africa)

November 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment

$24,812: Funded December 24, 2015. Completed Fall 2016.
togoCommunity Profile: The Child Development Center of the Evangelical Mission Church of Tonoukouti has no potable water source at its premises. Tonoukouti, located in the Zio District of the Republic of Togo is deprived of any reliable source of potable water. This proposal aims at providing TG-621 with a permanent source of potable water, a storage tank to make the sourced water available on time for registered children, their siblings, caregivers/ parents, church members and the community as well.  Hygiene training will also be provided to the caregivers, the workers and volunteers and to the children to help them choose better water hygiene and sanitation practices.

The Zio river  is the only source of water availaible for the majority of the communities in the Zio South cluster At Tonoukouti, Though there are some available uncovered water wells, the river is the common place where many of the inhabitants fetch water to drink and for use in their houses such as washing their clothing and bathing. Such water is very likely to be filled with microbes, worms and bacteria which often are the source of water boren and water related diseases such as dysentery, diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever, urinary infections, goiter, draconculose of which the children of the village and registered children suffer the most.

A total number of 228 registered children and, 236 caregivers, projects workers and church community members’ will be the direct beneficiaries of this intervention.

Filed Under: Past Projects

Compassion International Child Development Center, TG205 Lome, Togo (Africa)

November 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

$27,301: Funded December 24, 2014. Completed Fall 2015

togo

Community Profile: The Rehoboth Child Development Center is located in Agoè Fiovi, a suburb of the coastal city of Lomé. The climate is hot and humid, and the low, coastal plain has many marshes and lagoons. Common but preventable illnesses include malaria, typhoid, cholera, and diarrhea. More than half the working population is unemployed, and the average monthly family income is U.S. $33. The Rehoboth Child Development Center meets critical needs in the community and serves as a tangible example of God’s love and provision for children and families.

Tangible Outcomes & Benefits for the Community: By partnering with Compassion in Togo, you would be providing 238 registered children at the Rehoboth Child Development Center as well as their caregivers’ access to safe water, hand-washing facilities, and a water storage system. Your gift would also provide ongoing training on proper hygiene. This water, sanitation and hygiene intervention would significantly reduce life-threatening incidents of cholera and waterborne diseases common in the suburbs of Lomé, and remove a significant barrier for children to overcome poverty.

Your gift is allowing the Compassion center to accomplish the following:

  • Drill a 50 to 70-meter deep borehole and construct a well on church property.
  • Install a solar pumping system with solar panels and batteries to move the water into a water tank and ensure distribution to various water points and facilities.
  • Construct a 7-meter tall concrete stand on which a water tank will be placed.
  • Install hand-washing facilities.
  • Conduct water analysis and test the installations.
  • Train staff on operating and maintaining the borehole and water tank.
  • Conduct hygiene training for the center’s children and families. Provide printed materials to center workers so they can offer ongoing training to children, families and community members.

PROGRESS TO DATE

Upon receiving the funds, our church partner selected the best contractor from four bids for the borehole construction project. This contractor then procured and installed the necessary drilling equipment at the project site, excavating the hole and preparing the vat and trap for the drilling process. Two days after drilling began, water was discovered 57 meters below ground — just as expected. After sending the water to be analyzed by the National Institute of Hygiene, the tests revealed that it was ideal for human consumption. This was an answer to prayer.

Now that a reliable source of clean water is available, construction has begun on a stand and tank for water storage, water delivery points, and hand-washing stations for the sponsored children at Baptiste Rehoboth, as well as their families and others in the community. While awaiting completion of these projects, our church partner has begun educating children and caregivers on good hygiene practices.

OVERFLOWING WITH ANTICIPATION

Once completed, the borehole construction will change the lives of residents living in this community. Finding safe water will no longer be as time-consuming. Personal hygiene will improve and cases of waterborne diseases will decrease. Children will be healthier and miss less school.

The cooking staff will be relieved from the hours spent fetching clean water for food preparation. As a result, they’ll have more time to cook nutritious meals for sponsored children. Local residents have been watching the highly visible construction project and looking forward to the day when it will be complete. With the 10-month construction process nearing its end, our church partner expects to have the water storage tank, plumbing, distribution points, and hand-washing stations ready to use by January 2016. By the time construction its finished, the staff, children, and caregivers will be trained and fully prepared to make the most of it.

Knowing the clean water is almost available has already helped the children of Baptiste Rehoboth improve their health as they learn more about proper hygiene and sanitation practices. Once the child development center turns on its water tap, the children will be better prepared to rise above poverty as they develop physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Thank you, Friends, for showing God’s love through your generous gift of clean water. It will improve local health, save caregivers’ time and money, and allow our church partner to serve the community of Agoe-Nyive Fiovi in significant ways. We are excited to see how the availability of clean water will change lives.   “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Footnotes
1 “Water Sanitation Health: Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Development,” www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/en
2 www.unicef.org/media/media_21423.html
3 www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/e
1 Evaluation of the costs and benefits of water and sanitation improvements at the global level, World Health Organization, 2004
2 The State of the World’s Children 2012, UNICEF
3 Making Water a Part of Economic Development, Stockholm International Water Institute, 2005
4 The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2012
Filed Under: Past Projects

Compassion International Child Development Center: ET321 Dera, Ethiopia

December 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

$22,633: Funded December 24, 2013. Completed Fall 2014.

dera_water_croppedThe water project will be implemented in Dera, Ethiopia. The city’s population is about 64,000 people. In the area surrounding the church where people can access water through this project, there will be about 3,600 people. The Compassion project, implemented through the local church, serves about 210 children and their families directly. These families (about 1,050) will benefit most directly.

The total cost of this water project is $22,633. FUNDING COMPLETE!

Insufficient water supply becomes detrimental to the programmatic activities of registered children at ET-321. The church accesses this water from the community water points in the town.The project director (ET-321) indicated that the nearest water point to the child development center is found approximately at 800 meters (1/2 mile). Thus, the church pays USD 0.23 for 20 liters of water to those who transport the water by horse cart in order to fulfill the water needs at the child development center. Nevertheless, the church is not able to meet the required amount of water which is from 140 to 200 liters of water per day (i.e. seven to ten containers per day). As the project director indicated in July 2013, the registered children are not able to use the existing toilets efficiently and practice hand washing after defecation due to having not sufficient water supply at the child development center. They are also not able to take shower even after doing physical exercises though the area is known to be windy and dusty. Hence, the church is currently using this available water only to cook food items to service 208 registered children during tea break.

Moreover, the community water points in the town are few in number and disproportional to the number of households in the community. The project director indicated that water is often times available for few days in a week. To cope up the challenge, people in the town reserve water with containers when water is available and use it scarcely. As a result, every water point has a long queue, so it takes more than an hour to fetch water. The project director also mentioned that this problem goes beyond the child development center and affects the community in which the registered children reside. In other words, lack of sufficient safe drinking water affects the lives of registered children and their caregivers in the community. For instance, women and children are the ones who spend much of their time in waiting a long queue and fetch water from community water points. As a result, the registered children are miss out on school time or study time.

The magnitude of this problem has initiated the church (ET-321) to take the lead in installing a water pipe line from 800 m far off place. The project has bought 80 water pipelines and acquired legal permission from the local government to connect with the national water grid line which is passing across the area. Nevertheless, the church has not been able to go further to complete this activity due to financial constraints. This proposal is, therefore, designed to connect water pipeline from the national grid and to build three water points one at the child development center and the other two near to the community whereby registered children are located. The realization of this activity will enhance child participation rate, facilitate personal hygiene exercise and reduce the incidence of infectious diseases from registered children.

photographers-water-project

Filed Under: Past Projects Tagged With: ,

Compassion International Child Development Center: TZ452 Olkolili, Tanzania

December 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

$60,000: Funded Dec 24, 2011, Completed May 2012.

Your recent support of a water project has literally revolutionized life in Olkolili, Tanzania. By bringing dependable, clean water to this small village for the first time, you have provided health and hope to hundreds of people and removed a significant barrier to overcoming multiple forms of poverty in their lives.

tanzania1

Project Director Seraphine Mayila demonstrates how to water the garden.

A Problem on Many Levels

When the Pentecostal evangelism Fellowship of Africa (PeFA) olkolili Church established its Compassion-assisted child development center in May 2010, the needs of area children were quickly identified — all of them related to a lack of water. In this remote village of 2,300, where the nearest water sources were unprotected swamps and wells two-and-a-half miles away, children often helped their families spend many hours each day fetching water. In doing so, their educational opportunities were limited. The filthy water brought suffering to many in the village via waterborne diseases, worms and skin infections. Sanitation was virtually unheard of. This resulted in even more risk of sickness, especially among children, due to improper disposal of human waste and the inability to clean themselves or their food. The food supply, too, was limited without a dependable water source nearby, hindering adequate physical growth among children.

Running Water: A First For Olkolili

When you answered the call to share God’s love through your generous gift, you set in motion a carefully planned water project. This process included obtaining permits and paying experts to locate a dependable water source. Contractors then designed and drilled a borehole well and installed two reservoir water tanks, a generator, a pump, three water taps and plumbing that deliver water to bathrooms and kitchen facilities. The project and follow-up testing came in on budget and, according to the region’s district water engineer, the well can supply clean, safe water to twice the intended beneficiaries. People from every part of olkolili were involved in this project, which took place February through May 2012. They are unified in gratitude for your investment in bringing running water to the village for the first time. The residents are committed to ensuring the well and its systems are protected, maintained and kept accessible to the intended beneficiaries.

More Than Just Meeting Needs

Thanks to your generosity, now the child development center is able to share clean water with the entire community, help bring down the rates of waterborne disease and raise awareness of the need for sanitation. All 250 registered children and at least one adult caregiver for each child, as well as another 80 children who attend the church regularly, access the water tap. In fact, this tally is conservative – most families are not limited to one child and one adult. the full effect of this well is likely felt by everyone in the village. one child said, “We are now in a town like those we read about in books!” The Compassion tanzania staff reports the children now feel life is worth living. Center workers say the overall learning environment is improved and encourages the children to attend the Compassion program. Now that they have adequate water supply, the center’s staff members can teach registered children not only about the importance of using water in restrooms, washing their hands with soap and water, and safely preparing food, but they also enable the children to practice these procedures while at the centers.

A Change That Makes an Impact

Seraphine Mayila, project director of the PeFA olkolili student Center, says the water system already makes a major difference on a number of levels. Water from the well is used to irrigate vegetable and tomato crops tended by registered children. these crops are used to feed the children during regular center activities, and the surplus is sold in the community. the center also makes water available to the entire community for a small fee. the funds raised by these income-generating activities are invested in much-needed classroom items and playground equipment at the center.

Beyond meeting present needs, the gardening and irrigation activities teach children valuable skills they can use throughout their lives. “Planting vegetable and tomatoes has reduced the cost of these items for our children here at the center, and the community can get vegetables nearby rather than before as they used to travel to buy them.” Seraphine says. As the ample water supply turns olkolili green with leaves from vegetable and tomato plants, these new food sources are already improving health and brightening the future. “The impact of this work is great,” says Mathew Nanyaro, a 35-year-old father of a registered child. “The activity will yield many beneficial outcomes. The perception of many individuals concerning vegetable planting has improved for the better, and others are already preparing their own gardens for more profit.”

Another parent, 28-year-old Neema Julius, shares this optimism: “the bible saying ‘whoever does not work should not eat’ has become very relevant to me. In the future, both the children and the youth in the community will grow into hardworking men and women who are sensitive about vegetable planting and selling them to people. “I am now full of hope that the family health conditions and income will improve, and I believe that domestic needs will be handled,” Neema says.

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Thank You

Thank you for your support of this important intervention. your kindness will have a tangible and lasting impact throughout the entire village. Mathew’s thoughts encapsulate olkolili’s reaction to the scope of your investment in this project: “I am grateful to the donors of Compassion, and I would like to assure them that what they have started is a revolution and a movement to help most families reach their daily needs.”

Filed Under: Past Projects Tagged With: , ,

Compassion International Child Development Center KE781, Kiio, Kenya

December 17, 2013 by 3 Comments

$59,276: Funded December 24, 2012. Completed Fall 2013.

BEFORE: The beneficiaries of our 2012 campaign are 3000 residents of Kitui County Mwingi District Northeast of Narobi Kenya, which includes 232 children who are registered in Compassions Kiio GFCB Child Development Center.  Most of the adults in this rural community work as subsistence farmers or petty traders earning approximately $25 per month.

Most families here depended on rain water runoff, and water from ponds and streams. In times of drought, water is gathered from hand-dug wells, which means residents must awake at 3 a.m. and wait in line or hours for water before the supply runs out. The Compassion center spends much of its limited budget purchasing water from these unreliable sources and subsequently encounters high medical expenses treating children who fall ill from contaminated water.

A competent and reputable contractor will be engaged and hired in drilling the borehole and the church partner is committed to ensure the activity is conducted and completed as agreed. Water infrustructure at the church compound will be constructed to supply water to various places including the wash rooms for sanitation. The activity will immediately start after the funds are available. A total of $62,151 USD is needed for the successful completion of the activity. The local church has prepared to locally contribute USD $2,875. This proposal seeks to raise $59,276.

BUDGET DETAILS

TOTAL COST

LOCAL RESOURCES

AMOUNT NEEDED
Survey and Permits

$   9,115

$0

$   9,115
Equipment and Drilling

$10,156

$0

$10,156
Installation and Materials

$15,118

$0

$15,118
Development and Testing

$  2,352

$0

$  2,352
Plumbing and Finishing work

$23,674

$2,875

$20,799
Sustainability Monitoring

$  1,736

$0

$  1,736
TOTAL COST

$62,151

$2,875

$59,276

OBJECTIVES & IMPLEMENTATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

  • Provide 232 children, 12 staff, and approximately 2000 residents of Kiio with access to safe, affordable drinking water and sanitation education.
  • Minimize the spread of disease and improve hygiene standards, not only at the Compassion center but in the community as a whole.
  • Enable the partnering church to generate income by selling the water at approximately 50% less than its local market value for the purpose of making the water well self-sustainable (financing upkeep and repairs) and ensuring that the water supply will be available for generations to come. This microenterprise will also serve to educate beneficiaries about the value of clean water and prevent waste and misuse.

THE SOLUTION

Drilling a well and installing a water filtration plant in Kiio will sove both water and health problems in the community. Supporting a water project at Kiio GFCB Student Center will provide equipment, maintenance, and training for the partner church. The water plant will have the capacity to eliminate pollutants and bacteria from water sources. A water purification system includes: Equipment, drilling, installation, infrastructure to keep and house the water purification system, and training and technical support.

kenyaAFTER: Through the construction of a borehole well near the Kiio GFCB Child Development Center, you have provided access to safe water for 232 Compassion-assisted children, their families, and more than 2,000 community members. Thank you! Your support has empowered a struggling area with a valuable resource: safe drinking water. This intervention was completed with great success and has resulted in healthier lives, stronger economies and brighter futures for Kiio’s children.

A NEED ADDRESSED

Thanks to your donations, easy access to safe drinking water has transformed an entire community. Children who once suffered from diarrhea and intestinal infections are now healthy, and the community is no longer burdened by the expense of medical care to treat waterborne diseases. Likewise, mothers who once walked for hours to collect unsafe water now have access to safe water just minutes from their homes. This simple convenience has drastically changed their day-to­ day lives.

One mother who was affected by this intervention is 28-year-old Elizabeth Mwikali Nzoka. She used to wake up at 4 a.m. during the dry season to walk 3 miles to collect water for her three children. It was a burden she had to bear, but thanks to you it is no longer.

  • Involving local authorities in mobilizing and educating the community about the water project.
  • Drilling a 590-foot deep borehole
  • Testing and analyzing the water to determine that it is fit for human consumption .
  • Equipping the borehole well with a pump
  • Digging trenches and laying more than half a mile of

Together, these accomplishments mean 232 Compassion-assisted  children, their families and 2,000 community members now have easy access to safe water. They no longer have to drink water that makes them sick, and they no longer have to face the dangers of a long walk to reach unreliable water sources. Now they are free to enjoy happier, healthier lives.

CHALLENGES

The project was scheduled to be implemented within nine months -this included three months for a hydro-geological survey and environmental impact assessment, three to six months for drilling and civil works, and at least two months for testing. However, the first phase -the survey and assessment -took three months longer than expected.

Though Compassion Kenya attempted to make up this time, and though drilling the well took just one month, the civil works and testing phase could not be completed in the remaining two months. The project timeline was extended by four months, moving the completion date to April 2014. This allowed sufficient time for completing the well and proper testing.

OUTCOMES

A major outcome sought through this project was to reduce the prevalence of health and hygiene issues in children related to drinking contaminated water. In the past, considerable funds were spent treating children with diarrhea. We are happy to report that the project anticipates the new access to safe water will go a long way toward reducing these infections by more than 80 percent. Families and the Compassion center will no longer face expensive medical bills from waterborne diseases.  Other cost-savings will come from no longer having  to purchase water to use for center activities.

This new access to clean water also led to another positive financial outcome. The local church is in the process of acquiring land for irrigation farming. Thanks to access to water, the church will be able to grow vegetables year round–particularly,  vegetables  that are scarce in the village. This horticultural project also will er ate educational opportunities for registered children as they learn about farming and irrigation methods.

In addition to economic progress, the project also has raised the local church’s profile. Its involvement was a sign of solidarity to families who have benefited from access to safe water In light of the positive response from the community, the church plans to increase its involvement in future development projects.

Jonathan Sompisha, Project Director of Kiio GFCB Child Development Center, explains: “We are very happy and excited about the work here; there has been a transformation of lives in Kiio Community. The mothers have stopped worrying so much about water and instead are concentrating more on other activities. We expect hospital visits due to waterborne diseases to reduce dramatically as well as incidences of child abuse since the children will now be accessing safe water from a nearby source.”

THANK YOU

Heartfelt thanks to all of our donors, for demonstrating Christ’s love in such a tangible way by funding this important project. Ensuring that children and their families have access to safe water is one of the most critical components in Compassion’s holistic approach to releasing children from poverty, and your gift has ensured that the children of Kiio are much healthier and safer. We appreciate your ongoing partnership as we continue to care for children in Kenya and around the world.

TESTIMONIALS

“Right now I am very happy because I have easy access to safe water from the church,” Elizabeth says. “For me, this is a miracle. I am confident that the lives of my children will be very different from mine. When I was younger, we always went to school late and at times even missed school completely because we had to collect water before going to school. My children will not go through that because we can easily collect water now.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

We’re grateful that your partnership with Compassion has provided access to safe water through drilling a borehole well -transforming the health, economy and happiness of an entire community. This successful project involves:

  • Conducting a hydrological survey to identify the most appropriate site for the borehole well and obtaining permission from the landowner to drill on the property. 
  • Obtaining relevant permits and licenses through Kenya’s Water and Resources Management
  • Conducting and submitting an environmental impact assessment to Kenya’s National Environmental
  • Involving local authorities in mobilizing and educating the community about the water project.
  • Drilling a 590-foot deep borehole
  • Testing and analyzing the water to determine that it is fit for human consumption .Equipping the borehole well with a pump.
  • Digging trenches and laying more than half a mile of pipe.Together, these accomplishments mean 232 Compassion-assisted  children, their families, and 2,000 community members now have easy access to safe water. They no longer have to drink water that makes them sick, and they no longer have to face the dangers of a long walk to reach unreliable water sources. Now they are free to enjoy happier, healthier lives.

CONCLUSION

Together, these accomplishments mean 232 Compassion-assisted  children, their families, and 2,000 community members now have easy access to safe water. They no longer have to drink water that makes them sick, and they no longer have to face the dangers of a long walk to reach unreliable water sources. They are now free to enjoy happier, healthier lives. God bless you! 

Filed Under: Past Projects Tagged With: ,