This year, GfGD’s University Group based at Imperial College London will be supporting Imperial Water Brigades, and their Water Brigades project in Ghana. A number of students from the Department for Earth Science and Engineering will be travelling to Ghana in September 2013 to help construct a rainwater harvesting system – and work with local communities who will be using the tank. Over the coming months, students will be publishing a number of articles on the GfGD Blog about different aspects of their project – including both the physical and social elements of the work. Today the team write an inroduction to their project:
3.4 million people die every year from ‘dirty’ water (most under 5 years of age)*
2.5 billion people (including almost one billion children) live without basic sanitation*
A single person needs 20-50 litres of water a day to ensure their basic needs (drinking, cooking and cleaning). In Ghana, a whole family has only 13.6 litres of potentially dirty water. Imperial Water Brigades, a student-led organisation, is working to make a change. We aim to provide communities with a reliable and most importantly clean water supply. Imperial Water Brigades works under the banner of Global Brigades, which works to improve the health and development of whole communities by sending brigades with specific roles, be that medical, dental and public health or even architecture, business, environmental, law and microfinance. Under this widespread development project, our job is not only to provide communities with the clean water they need but also to teach them about hygiene, sanitation, water conservation and water storage. In this way we can help prevent the spread of diseases and also improve the long-term impact of our projects.
This September, we are travelling to the community of Srafa Abaono, Ghana. After sending a group last year we found that this community has a desperate need for clean water and education on hygiene and sanitation. Along with the rest of the Global Brigades, we are committed to continuing our efforts within this community.
Our Aims:
- To build rainwater harvesters to provide all-year-round clean water.
- To educate households on maintenance and management of water tanks.
- To educate children and adults alike on water and health related topics, including hygiene, sanitation, water conservation and water storage.
- Most importantly, to provide long-term sustainable solutions.
Our main aim is to design and construct sustainable long-lasting rainwater harvesting systems. These will be installed in specific households where the inhabitants have shown commitment in getting and maintaining them. To begin with, a drainage system is constructed on the roof to collect the water. Next, we build a large water tank for this to be stored, especially during the dry seasons. A LifeStraw filter is attached, a safe water filter with a long lifetime, which residents can use to get clean water when they require it. Our group aims to provide large households with enough water to get them through the dry seasons but also to allow them to improve their hygiene and sanitary standards (e.g. washing hands). Sustainability and future During our project, we will be using local materials, employing local masons and translators to provide local workers and an infrastructure which will have experience in such projects. Furthermore, we will be cooperating with community leaders so that we can coordinate our efforts towards water security and development. At various stages, we will also be discussing with households directly about how we can improve on our previous projects (so that we can learn from them) and also to teach them how to maintain their water tanks in future. Before we leave, any extra funding we have will go into distributing LifeStraws to the locals and investing materials for future projects. Along with the long-life design of our rainwater harvesters, we believe that this project will be sustainable well into the foreseeable future and will lead to the development and improved health and living standards of this impoverished community.
Imperial Water Brigades is a small group of students. We need funds for, amongst other things, the materials and help we will need for the project. Our group is working hard to raise as many funds as we can, from making corporate appeals to small cake sales and sponsored feats. The more donations we receive, the more we can do to support the people who need our help; it’s as simple as that!
* Statistics provided by the UN and Global Brigades
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GfGD’s National Director, Joel Gill, says:
“We are delighted that GfGD Imperial will be supporting this work and helping with fundraising. The earth science students taking part in the project will learn a tremendous amount about the importance of community mobilisation and participation within development projects, and how to work effectively in other cultures. The students have shown a genuine desire to learn as much as possible before they go, and have benefitted from conversations with water and sanitation professionals. I have seen first hand how access to clean water and hygiene promotion can transform a community, and this project shows every sign of being sustainable and a success. Participants cover all their own costs, and the costs of building materials and technical support – requiring approximately £1200 each. We have noted the students and their fundraising pages below so that any readers wishing to support this work can make a donation.“