Church expands access to clean water in Liberia

Key points:

• The Liberia Conference’s Water for Life projects expand water access and sanitary facilities throughout the country.
• The goal is to help reduce waterborne diseases and improve safety and equity for women and girls.
• The initiative is supported by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Providing clean water to rural communities continues to be a priority for The United Methodist Church in Liberia.

The conference is working in all four of the church’s districts through its Water for Life initiative, providing 25 water wells, 15 gender-sensitive toilets and poly tanks to harvest rainwater as part of its most recent outreach.

“We want each community to learn to fetch its own water from the rain,” said Jefferson Knight, director of the conference’s United Methodist Church Human Rights Monitor.

He said poly tanks to store rainwater will be installed at five schools in the church’s four districts at an overall cost of $200,000.  

Supported by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries’ Global Health unit, Water for Life projects expand water access and sanitary facilities throughout the country. The goal is to reduce waterborne diseases, improve safety and equity for women and girls who often are the ones tasked with searching for water, and enhance overall quality of life in the benefitting communities.

“The United Methodist Church in Liberia remains supportive of the health needs of its members and the Liberian people,” Knight said during the dedication ceremony of several water wells in the Nana Kru and Sinoe districts. The project also extended to the Kru Coast and Cape Palmas districts.

He said the church has been in continuous partnership with the government of Liberia in addressing critical challenges that the Liberian people are facing. A few years ago, the Liberia Conference extended Water for Life to Guinea, where The United Methodist Church has a presence.

In a message of gratitude to the Human Right Monitor that oversees the project and donors, the Rev. Brownell B. Konton, superintendent of the Nana Kru District, said the water wells are needed more than ever to keep people safe.

“All of the creeks that our people are drinking from are now polluted because of illicit mining in the area,” he said.

He pointed out that the people of Wessehkpo Township, Torwaoh and Nuapoint towns — among others — remain grateful to Global Ministries for the water wells.

Konton noted that the water wells heighten the need for safe drinking water in other rural communities where The United Methodist Church has a presence.

Helena Dolo, who lives in the Karquekpo community, said the water well will help to reduce the workload of fetching water from the creek, which is a distance away from the town.

“Though we were taught how to treat the creek water before drinking it, this water will be a lot safer for us to drink,” Dolo said.

For his part, 70-year-old Alieu Kamara said the water well is a blessing for the town of Karquekpo. He warned, however, that the management of the well is an important aspect.

“The town chief should not give the key to anyone because of friend or relationship,” he said.

He thanked the church for providing for the people of the town regardless of their church affiliation.

Asked what role the Liberia Conference will play in keeping the facilities safe and long lasting in the communities, Knight told UM News that town and village leaders and the church, especially the United Methodist churches in the communities, will sign monitoring agreements once the communities start using the facilities.

“We will ensure that the investment of the church is protected by all means,” he said.

Swen is editor and publisher of West African Writers, an online publication about United Methodist happenings in West Africa.

News media contact: Julie Dwyer at newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.