Help a Child: Provide Access to Water in Nigeria

Dear Family, Friends and Supporters of Serendipity Healthcare Foundation,

The water crisis of rural communities in Ungogo LGA, Kano is a crisis of too polluted and too little water sources. At Serendipity we are tasked to find and implement solutions to provide water services and infrastructure to rural communities in Nigeria and to fulfill our vision of seeing a future where everyone has access to clean safe drinking water.

In the mid half of 2018 during the rainy season, there was an outbreak of cholera in Amarzakaya where there was suspected cases of 30 people and reported cases of 2 deaths. Amarzakaya is a community close to one of the communities in Gadan (2KMs apart) we are currently working and this crisis informed our decision to scale up to find solutions to this crisis. The outbreak occured as a result of contamination of the stream which happens to be the only water source and lack of garbage collection points thus leading to seepage into the stream.

Amidst all of this was that we found out there were also malnourished vulnearble orphans in the community which made them susceptible to the cholera outbreak. To reduce the already deteriorating issue, we at Serendipity came up with a comprehensive plan to solve the immediate problem while in the coming months work on the other solutions. Being a new community, we had a first stakeholders meeting with the women and children where they were taught on the importance of good handwashing practices and the importance of keeping their surroundings clean to stop possible contamination of the stream. (refer to earlier report)

During the last quarter of the year despite the challenges we had in terms of funding and logistics, we were able to provide water services and infrastructure in the cholera affected community to 350 people. We installed a handpump to augument the other water source at the communal centre, distributed hygiene kits (soap, washing up liquids et.al), water purification tablets to 50 families thus far all done with your support and kind donation in collaboration with the local governing council and setting up a steering committee to protect the well and sustain the project. 

We hope to do more for the community with your continued support especially now during the Little by Little campaign running on GlobalGiving 8th - 14th April, 2019.

You can like and follow our Facebook page/serenhealthcare, @serendipityHea1, LinkedIn/samirah.faruk or send us an email at serenhealthcare@gmail.com.

Thank you.

Yours Truly,

Samirah Faruk

Links:

• A WASH response to water crisis

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends of Serendipity Healthcare Foundation,

Since the last time you heard from us, we have been on a campaign of "One Child, One Project" which main theme is to provide WASH materials to school age children as well as teach them good handwashing practices.

We decided to intensify our efforts of providng access to clean drinking water and good sanitation facilities in two rural communities in Ungogo and Tofa Local Governing councils of Kano, Nigeria. This was a result of the declaration of State of Emergency on the WASH sector in Nigeria due to the lack of water supply and open defecation practised by communities and the need for all stakeholders to increase efforrts into ensuring we meet up a reasonable amount of compliance by 2025.

At Serendipity, we took our campaign to Amarzakaya a community in TudunFulani of Ungogo Local council, Kano where we had a first stakeholders community meeting with the women on the implications of practicing open defecation and the need for good handwashing pracices. During the visit, we realised that they community had only one pond where there source for water and is a 2 mile walk from the city centre thus leaving the children and women who source for the water undergoing harsh conditions deteriment to their health.

For our next vist to the community, we intend to provide them with an alternative sources of water supply where they can have access to safe clean driniking water within close proximity, provide them with cheap alternative means of water purification to keep them healthy working in close collaboration with their community based organisation and the local governing council.

We appreciate the confidence reposed in us all these years in being the link towards providing life changing solutions to rural communities in Kano as all the water points provided are functional seven years down the line and sustainable because of the community having ownership of the project from the first instance. We thus solicit for more of your support to us to provide water and sanitation facilities to rural communities in Northern Nigeria.

Thank you once again for the support and trust in us to better lives for women and children in rural communities.

Best Regards,

Samirah Faruk

Links:

• State of Emergency on WASH sector in Nigeria

Dear Supporeters, Family and Friends of Serendipity Healthcare Foundation,

In our quest to reduce water related diseases amongst school age children through good handwashing practices and keeping themselves clean, we moved one step forward to a rural community school in Gadan where the children were not only taught on how to wash their hands properly and at what times to wash their hands but they were also taught about the SDGs and Global Handwashing Day. 

We chose this special day to do these trainings and distribute WASH materials so that the children become aware of Global Handwashing Day and the SDGs. They were only learning about it for the first time and thus were very exicited and happy to know about this with a resolve to always mark this day and keep clean.

Gadan Primary School is a school that prior to now had a low enrollement of girls in the ration of 5 boys :1 girl (School enrollement records, September 2017) as the girls were always going to source for clean drinking water compared to the boys hence missing out on school. Through your kind donation however we were able to provide two additional hand pumps thus the distance to source for water has been reduced and school enrollement has increased to 10 girls :4 boys (School enrollement records, September 2018).

The school is lacking toilets because there are only two toilets for the school population of 495 students, 2 permanent teachers and 3 volunteer teachers, currently one toilet is being shared by the pupils (boys and girls) and the teachers share one toilet as well. This current situation makes the girls go back home to ease themselves thus missing out on school lessons as they do not come back to school after reaching home.

There are other needs the school needs but most pressing is the provision of 4 Ventilated Improved Pit latrines and the best way for us to achieve this is through your continued support especially during #GivingTuesday because YOU believe in our cause and are our partner to making lives better for children in rural communities.

To more about our work kindly vist and like our Facebook page on www.facebook.com/serenhealthcare, LinkedIn page on www.LinkedIn.com/serendipity-healthcare-foundation, our website on www.serendipityhealthcare.ngo, follow us on twitter @serendipityHea1 or send us an email on serenhealthcare@gmail.com.

Best Regards,

Abubakar Sadiq

Project Coordinator

Links:

• keeping them clean and healthy
• Training on WASH

Dear supporters, family and friends of Serendipity,

Kano, Nigeria has been grappling with water shortages since 1960 due to lack of adequate provision of access to water and sanitation facilities? Do you know that each day 1 child in 1000 dies of water related illnesses in communities in Kano?

It is on this premise, we at Serendipity decided that it is not only to provide access to safe clean drinking water but also to provide trainings to school age children on good hand washing and hygiene practices learning how to wash their hands properly, times at which to wash hands and keeping clean.

We took our campaign to Millennium Model School in Tarauni Local Governing council where we taught Grades 4 and 5 on how to wash their hands properly, keeping themselves clean and their environment clean. WASH materials was also distributed to them from your kind donations to ensuring children are clean and stay healthy to come to school.

We would continue with these trainings to two more schools before the year runs out to keep to our goal of ensuring school age children know the right way to wash their hands and distribute WASH materials to them. The best way for us to achieve this is your continued support to our project especially during the upcoming campaign of GG Rewards Bonus Day on the 18^th of July, 2018 where funds donated will be matched at 50% while matching funds remain because YOU believe in our cause and are a partner in making the lives of children in rural communities of Kano better.    

To learn more about our work, check out our website on www.serendipityhealthcare.ngo become our friend on Facebook/serenhealthcare, LinkedIn/samirahfaruk and follow us on twitter @serendipityHea1 or send us an email for any enquiry or advice.

Best Regards,

Abubakar Sadiq

Links:

• Staying Alive
• Staying Alive

Dear supporters, family and friends of Serendipity,

At serendipity we know how communities are battling with the search for water with children walking great miles to search for this sometimes elusive water but that is why we are here; to serve and to ensure that your every donation goes towards uplifting the plight of those children.

This informed our providing additional source of safe clean drinking water to a new community called Sabon Ungwar after a first line stakeholder’s visit to the community where we discussed matters that affect their socio economic well being.

What we found out was that the community had three sources of water, two uncovered tube wells and a pond for a population of 795 (last census of 2006) which led to a recent outbreak of cholera that claimed 7 lives.    

A handheld Indian Mark II water pump was installed just before the rains commenced in order for us to have a good reading and now the community have access to safe clean drinking water rather than the unsafe water they were previously using for all their chores and drinking.

As part of our goal to ensure good hygiene and hand washing practices aside from provision of water sources, we intend to continue with trainings for  school age children within the community as well as distribution of washing materials. This will be run together with our meeting up of target of 50 women by the end of the last quarter on the use of hydrophonics from the run off water to cater for their livestock.

 We have worked in two communities Kundundu Fawa Dango and Tofa which transited into the use of hydrophonics and the actualization of women using the provision of access to water and training to becoming empowered and assisting their families. We are hoping to do so in this new community Sabon Ungwar.Will you help us to succeed on this? Your donation towards provision of access to water in rural communities in Northern Nigeria will not only help a child through good hand washing and hygiene practices but empower women also through the use of hydrophonics thus creating a source of income.

To learn more about our work, check out our website on www.serendipityhealthcare.ngo become our friend on Facebook/serenhealthcare, LinkedIn/samirahfaruk and follow us on twitter @serendipityHea1 or send us an email for any enquiry or advice.

Best Regards,

Abubakar Sadiq

Links:

• New access to water
• New access to water