FACE Africa is conducting a WASH in Schools program in remote Rivercess County, Liberia, aiming to keep children safe and healthy so that they can learn, grow and thrive as part of prosperous and resilient communities. Strengthening WASH in schools is also a key first step to a sustainable recovery from Ebola. This project will enable the expansion of our safe water point network to 10 new schools across the county, accompanied by the provision of comprehensive hygiene training and education.
Rivercess is one of the most impoverished and underserved populations in Liberia. The county ranks as having the country's second poorest level of access to safe water in primary schools, with most relying on contaminated surface water for drinking and lacking the necessary facilities for basic hygiene practices such as handwashing. As a result, schoolchildren and their communities are left vulnerable to preventable diseases, preventing them from receiving the education they need to thrive.
This project will support the expansion of FACE Africa's network of safe water points to 10 new schools in Rivercess County so that they have the vital infrastructure needed to keep schoolchildren safe. In parallel, FACE Africa will train community WASH Committees on water point maintenance and roll out its hygiene education and awareness program at these schools, training teachers, school staff and PTA members on the value of safe water, handwashing, basic hygiene and sanitation.
This project will support our larger WASH in Schools (WinS) program, which as a whole will ensure that all 26 of schools and 2345 students in the Central Rivercess Education District have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Such access is vital to disease prevention, to preventing a possible resurgence of the Ebola virus specifically, and to ensuring that schoolchildren remain healthy and receive the education they need to thrive.
