Clean Water, WASH & Nutrition for 500 Muslim Girls

Challenge

Poverty, hunger, communal violence and limited public health plague Muslim Mindanao, Philippines. Sulu Province remains near the bottom of the UN's worldwide Human Development Index. A school-aged population of some 350,000 children are mostly impoverished and suffering from hunger. Female students are often most affected. We will assist five schools with a total of 500 girls to build clean water systems, WASH facilities and adequate nutrition essential for improved health and education.

Solution

We will assist five schools with a total of 500 girls to build clean water systems, WASH facilities and adequate nutrition through school lunches cooked by volunteer mothers and grandmothers which are essential for improved health and education. With improved water delivery at each school, we will encourage the expansion of school-based gardens to provide fresh foods at each school. Soaps and toothpaste will improve children's health for better classroom performance and more days in school.

Long-Term Impact

The long-term impact of this program is to improve health and school conditions. We also build peace by empowering Christian and Muslim communities to respect and support each other, with an emphasis on daughters and grand-daughters . AAI serves as mediators and social healers. Our inter-faith activities dispel fear and biases that alienate communities who feel alone and abandoned. Positive interaction and equal treatment of all girls generate mutual respect and friendship.

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).

Resources