GHANA: LIBERIAN REFUGEE CAMP SANITATION CAMPAIGN
The Project:
In 2009, individual members donations provided sufficient funds to initiate a sanitation and hygiene education campaign to address the needs of more than 42,000 refugees residing in the Buduburam Refugee Settlement in Ghana.
Due to IHSAN’s board members donations covering all administrative costs, every dollar donated goes straight to the projects we execute. In this way, we are able to make a substantial impact with every dollar you donate. In this case one member’s donation of only 50 USD provided sanitation facilities and hygiene education to over 20 people. No amount is too little! This project constructed 12 ten-seated latrines (one in each of the 12 zones in Buduburam settlement), installed 20 billboards with specialized hygiene and health messages throughout the camp, and established a community sanitation tools-bank system to make tools available for community cleanliness. The project employed residents of the camp for all phases of construction and maintenance, thereby giving jobs to those who needed them most. IHSAN partnered with Global Volunteer Network and Children Better Way to complete this project. The total cost per ten-seated latrine was $9,000; the total cost for the 20 billboards was $1,200; and, the total cost for the tools-bank system was $2,500.
Results:
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Waste management improved across the settlement
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The misuse of drains and other public places reduced tremendously
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Garbage bins were used properly thanks the messages on the billboards
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Disease rates decreased
Unexpectedly, in 2011 the refugee camp was closed by the Ghanaian government and the refugees were forced to resettle elsewhere. However, project partners confirmed that in the two years the sanitation facilities and billboards were in existence, lives were saved.
Children from the refugee camp
Our Field Partner : Children Better Way (CBW)
Children Better Way (CBW) operates in the Buduburam refugee camp located in Ghana and in Monrovia, Liberia. Under the motto “Let the children play,” CBW operates a wide range of projects aimed to promote the rehabilitation and further development of the children who have been affected by the conflict in their home country of Liberia. The projects range from educational and recreational programs for the children themselves, to HIV/AIDS awareness and sanitation projects which benefit the wider community. The overall goal of Children Better Way, its volunteers, and the people who donate is to not only provide quality services to these children now but to help prepare them to be future leaders of Liberia.
Operating Partner : Global Volunteer Network Foundation
The GVN Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization in the United States with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its mission is to support the work of charitable organizations around the world that assist children and women. In the past GVN has been involved with various development and relief projects including raising $33,000 for the Haiti earthquake victims. As a part of the Haiti earth-quake relief effort, with the help of IHSAN and other donors, GVNF helped set up a community center that provided post-disaster assistance to 150 adults and 200 children. The center provided several forms of relief assistance including providing a Health clinic, a ‘Child Safe Zone' (A place for children to play and learn) and grief counseling. Additionally, the center provided classes for children in fields such as arts and languages. In Ghana, GVNF has worked with 'Children Better Way' (CBW) to help Liberian refugees in the Buduburam Refugee Camp. For more information please visit : http://www.gvnfoundation.org/
Refugee camp construction underway