Schools in rural Liberia face drinking water shortages

The Lack of safe water points for many schools of rural communities in parts of Liberia has posed a serious challenge to students and teachers in these areas, a local official said.

"We do not have safe drinking water. Since the school was founded, our students and teachers have been drinking water from the creek, which have led to many sicknesses and even early deaths especially during the rainy season," said Andrew Saye Wevor, principal of the Dean Town Elementary School in Bomi county.

The situation has made students and teachers vulnerable to the Ebola virus and other water-borne infections.

The Liberian government has launched a Back to School plan which requires all schools offer three liters of water for each student every day - something that appears difficult for schools due to the unavailability of water points near them.

Action Contre La Faim (ACF), an international humanitarian organization, in partnership with a local NGO, Ground Water Exploration Inc. (GWEI), is currently assessing water sources of several schools in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and rural Montserrado.

With funding from the European Union to support the Back to School plan, ACF and GWEI will in the coming seven months provide sustainable access to clean water of quality and quantity for 100 schools in the country.

A recent ACF report says the organization plans to dig and drill new water points, and rehabilitate existing nonfunctional water facilities in targeted schools across the three counties.

ACF has joined the Liberia's health ministry in the fight against Ebola virus since July, 2014. Endi