Partner with MyAfricanDiaspora.com and ZCD Foundation to bring life-saving fresh water to Sierra Leone
by Veronica Henry
MyAfricanDiaspora.com is partnering with ZCD Foundation to help bring international focus to the issues affecting post-conflict Sierra Leone.
ZCD Foundation was founded in early 2008, through the pioneering efforts of Zainab Beckett, a Sierra Leonean residing in Vegas, with the support of her American and Sierra Leonean counterparts. They share similar aims in bringing hope and dignity to the poor in depressed and disadvantaged rural communities and in improving their standard of living. The foundation focuses on the following main activities and projects:
- Provide access to safe drinking water supply and proper sanitary facilities
- Improve quality of primary health care delivery services
- Improve access to and enhance the quality education to all vulnerable school going children
- Promote and strengthen education for social workers on child protection/welfare with particular focus on child exploitation/trafficking and abuse
- Provide safe, secure housing and community infrastructure
- Promote agricultural productivity, processing and marketing by actively engaging the people-especially youths, in productive ventures.
- Building the capacity of under privileged community members (youth leadership, women and community leaders) enabling them to: advocate against human rights violations; work for their right for development and use active non-violent methods for conflict resolution
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In Sierra Leone the occurrence of water resources is abundant, but there are many constraints in the availability of water for domestic and agricultural purposes at all times of the year. These constraints include difficult access due to long distances to sources; poor quality surface sources; limited capability for ground water abstraction; inaccessible water during certain periods of the year; inadequate funding to meet challenges in abstraction and delivery and poor community attitudes towards development interventions.
This situation was further compounded by the decade long conflict in which water facilities suffered extensive damage through destruction, lack of maintenance and disposal of waste and dumping of human bodies in exposed water wells.
As is the case of poor water supply, poor sanitation equally poses serious health hazards to communities in rural areas, which could result in untold consequences on the ecosystem. Adequate legislation and environmental health education by both government, non-governmental organisations( local and international), the private sector, etc., is required to address this concern.
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The Foundation has supported the provision of clean drinking water and latrines that has rekindled hope and brought dignity to thousands of inhabitants in impoverished communities we targeted. At least every rural household will need a clean and safe source of water and adequate sanitation facilities with its associated health/ hygiene education and promotion packages. ZCD sees this approach as appropriately contributing to MSG Goal 4 and target 10 "to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation, by 2015"
We ask for your help in raising funds for projects as indicated below:
- Estimate for 1 Hand Dug Water Well: $9880
- Estimate for 1 Latrine (4 seater): $3120
Please make your donation by clicking on the Donate button above. For more information, visit the ZCD Foundation website.