Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

Bio-Sand Filter in Operation

I started filtering water with our bio-sand filter. The filter had taken a few weeks to complete and to get operational.
Finding suitable sand (coarse and fine) has been the major problem. The filter is running a little too slow. But slower is preferred over too fast. The search for suitable sand will continue.
After the micro-organisms are activated (20-30 days) then we will test the filtered water. We hope the filter will remove harmful bacteria from the water.

Diarrhea Deaths Endemic in Congo

Good health is dependent upon clean water and access to sanitation. Without WASH, minor and curable sickness kill a million children every year. Diarrhea is endemic in Congo.
Simply preventing a million diarrhea deaths (http://www.medindia.net/news/Child-Diarrhea-Deaths-Can-Be-Halved-If-Simple-Measures-Implemented-82709-1.htm)

"Though not an endemic problem in the U.S., diarrhea remains a common life-threatening event in third-world countries, killing about 1.4 million children under the age of five every year. But there are preventive measures and treatments that can reduce this number, and a new study by Christa Fischer Walker of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used a computer program to model how some of these methods can impact diarrhea incidence in 68 target countries. Among the list of simple and cheap preventive measures was: breastfeeding, vitamin A supplements, hand-washing with soap, improved sanitation, improved drinking water, better water treatment at home, use of the new rotavirus vaccination and acute treatment with antibiotics, oral rehydration salts and zinc. "

"Assuming a gradual implementation of these preventive measures, the researchers looked at two scenarios: a “realizable” approach, which was more modest, and a “universal” approach that is aggressive and designed to help as many children as possible. In the first scenario, annual diarrhea deaths decreased by 78 percent from 1.39 million in 2010 to 334,000 in 2015. This compared to a 92 percent reduction (less than 115,000 fatalities) with the more aggressive plan. "

"India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and Afghanistan would stand to benefit the most, with over half of the lives saved originating in one of these countries."

Needed Girls and Women

Girls and women are needed in other educational and entrepreneurial opportunities than carrying water.
I saw mostly girls and women at the water sources. They were collecting water and washing clothes.
It's hard to break the cycle of poverty with those opportunities.

http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-03-27-respect-shared-water-resources

No child should die from a preventable water-related disease. Yet, one-and-a-half million children still die each year from diarrhoeal diseases related to poor drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
No girl should fear going to school for lack of access to a separate toilet and no woman should have to walk six kilometres to collect water for her family.
Women and girls are disproportionally affected by water shortages. They often bear the primary responsibility for collecting water and tending to ill family members, foregoing educational and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The Way Home is Uphill

I could have died last week. How?
I was out testing the water quality at several community water sources. But I had forgotten that the water is in the valleys. I safely navigated down the hill to the source.
Then I realized that I had to go back up the hill. As I saw those girls carrying water up the hill nonstop, I was not about to stop and catch my breath or rest. So I keep going in spite of the pain.
The way home is up the hill.