When was the last time you went to the bathroom?
Remember the last time you had to search for a bathroom when you weren't at home? Imagine if you felt that same frustration for your entire life.
5 million people in Ghana (19% of the population) are forced to relieve themselves in open fields due to lack of infrastructure and resources. These people and many others around the world are denied the common right to security and comfort during such a necessary and private act. More importantly, open fields of waste can and will negatively impact the health of any nearby community. We're trying to change that.
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Pure Home Water (PHW) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) registered and based in Tamale, Ghana. It was founded in 2005 by Susan Murcott, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The organization built a factory to manufacture its AfriClay Filters – a locally-sourced clay pot water filter – in Taha, a village adjacent to Tamale. While the current focus of work is in household treatment for safe drinking water, PHW also engages in sanitation efforts.
- After speaking with local villages, it became clear that improved sanitation was a priority but was inaccessible due to lack of resources and high costs. In addition, many people lack an understanding of the relationship between improved sanitation and their health. So, how can we help?
- We decided to start with the children. Children will be making decisions in the future and will also influence their parents now. In June 2013, PHW built a 6-stall toilet block in 30 days for a school in the village of Taha. Since this project was so successful, we decided to keep the momentum going! We are planning to build the same toilet block for the neighboring village of Gbalahi.
Why give?- Your contribution not only allows for the construction of the proposed toilet block, but also employs local workers from Gbalahi and the surrounding villages. Your contribution ensures the the children of this village will be better protected from disease and will begin educating the children and their parents on safe hygiene practices. Ultimately, your contribution will change lives.
What We Need & What You Get
Our costs primarily include the labor and material costs for the toilet block, monitoring to ensure sustainability, travel and living expenses for one graduate student to oversee the construction, and some small miscellaneous expenses. All funds will be directed towards this project and if excess funds are received, we will begin planning additional toilet blocks for surrounding villages! A detailed breakdown of costs is available as an image in the gallery for your reference on this page.
What will you get?
We have four levels of incentives for giving.
- If you give $20, we will be forever thankful and your name will be included in the list of contributors.
- If you give $50, we will send you a picture of the completed toilet block with a project report.
- If you give $100, we will send you a local piece of artwork from Ghana.
- If you give $1,000, we will include your name on the toilet block as a key contributor to the project. We will send you a picture of your name on the toilet block after completion.
Who will this help?
This toilet block will serve 200 primary school children and influence many others as well. Not only will this project keep the children and teachers safe and healthy, but will begin to educate on better sanitation practices, keeping future children safe and healthy as well.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you're unable to contribute, please pass this along to your friends and family that may be interested. This is a very important and time-sensitive problem that can be addressed! We encourage you to research the problem to better understand it's global significance and see how you can help make important change happen!
Pure Home Water in the News: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/long-haul-to-bring-clean-water-to-developing-nations-1210.html
