Village Partnerships: Maforay Loko
Partner: Gateway Church (St. Peters, MO)
Population: 170
Households: 14
Status: Completed
Location: Bombali District, Sierra Leone
GPS Coordinates: N09 01.876 W012 09.542
Village History
Prior to any World Hope International involvement, Maforay Loko was in desperate need of clean water, improved education, leadership development and greater food security. Traditionally farmers save seeds for next year’s planting, but the people of Maforay Loko endured “hungry months” during the dry season as they did not have enough seeds to produce staple crops, including rice and peanuts, to last all year. Any surplus harvest was put at risk of being damaged or stolen by pests as no secure storage facility was built in the village.
In addition, the village had a protected, hand-dug well finished in 2007 that dried up in the hot climate during the peak of dry season. Without a safe, year-round water supply, people were forced to consume contaminated water. This caused diarrhea, dehydration and even death, especially among young children. A lack of sanitation facilities in the form of ventilated pit toilets, as well as a lack of knowledge about how disease is spread led to poor hygiene and, consequently, the spread of preventable illness.
Gateway Church, based in Saint Peters, MO began a partnership with the people of Maforay Loko in September 2012. Facilitated by WHI, Gateway Church aims to promote leadership development, hygiene training and education, more effective food storage, spiritual growth and improved farming techniques.
Completed Activities & Impact
Economic Development
WHI worked with the village to form and train a Village Development Committee (VDC). Community members elected trustworthy people of good reputation to serve on the VDC, including religious leaders, chiefs, head farmers and women.
The VDC works with WHI to encourage participation in development activities, steward project resources and hold their community accountable. The committee strategizes about future development planning and discusses solutions to current problems, acting as the primary change agent in the village through collective action.
WHI staff regularly visits villages to monitor VDC progress and to join them in planning the next phases of their community development. Farmers are taught better methods for selecting seeds and preserving them for next year’s planting and how to protect seeds and crops from pests.
As part of the VP project, the village completed the construction of a new church. The church in Maforay Loko was founded about 20 years ago as a community church under a tree and has been growing ever since. “The majority of our community is now Christian and we have seen how much unity it has brought to our village,” explained Simiti Mansaray, Assistant Chairlady of the VDC. From the tree, the church moved to a simple canopy and later to a local structure which had been leaking. “We have had the new church building only for one month now and we can already see how the number of participants is increasing. The leaking roof and the lack of space in the other building kept people from coming, but for the past four weeks we have always had more than 100 people coming to worship, even coming from neighboring villages,” stated Tony Kamara, VDC secretary.
Clean Water Wells & Sanitation
In May 2015, WHI drilled the Maforay Loko well and the water delivery infrastructure. In addition, a well in the Red Zone Ebola holding Center in Makeni was drilled. The village’s existing hand-dug well used to dry up at the peak of the dry season, forcing villagers to use water from a contaminated source. The community was often left vulnerable to preventable water-borne disease. With a new clean water well, villagers can now drink and wash, year-round, without fear of sickness.
Proper latrines, called Ventilated Improved Pit latrines, are crucial for the long-term health of the community. Proper sanitation facilities decrease diseases such as Cholera, dysentery and other diseases. Prior to the introductions of latrines, one man was bitten by a snake while he was using the bush as a toilet and died. Ten (10) latrines were constructed in the community, with only five households needing latrines. Each household was taught the important of proper sanitation and actively contributes to the construction of their latrine.
WHI conducted several hygiene training sessions in the community to help people in the village develop good hygiene habits and show them how to keep the water they pump from the well from being contaminated.
Agriculture
Seed banks provide a constant source of seeds for Maforay Loko. When it is time to plant, farmers receive a portion of seeds from a seed bank, which is managed by the VDC. Seed banks mobilize community resources to provide for the common good, strengthening the entire village.
This year, WHI completed seed distribution. Forty bushels of husk rice seed were distributed to the community. With improved seeds, the farmer repays the “seed loan” and keeps and/or sells the additional seed generated. Finally, WHI continues to provide visitation and monitoring of farming and harvest activities.
Ebola disrupted farming activities through mandated quarantines, prevention of travel, prevention of farming in groups, and fear. WHI distributed seeds to help Maforay Loko recover from the loss of food and future seeds for harvest. Resupplying the community’s seeds is crucial in helping the village have adequate food as they recover.
Health and Nutrition
WHI assisted in establishing a group of Community Health Peer Educators to educate the community about sanitation techniques during one of the worst cholera outbreaks in the country’s history. In addition, WHI demonstrated effective disposal of human waste and proper hand-washing technique while disseminating soap to families in the village, which helps to improve overall health and wellness. Moreover, mosquito nets were given to every household with children under the age of five years or pregnant women, along with malaria education. Malaria poses a constant threat to the people of Maforay Loko. Mosquitos that carry the disease are most active at night. By sleeping under an insecticide treated bed net, the risk of contracting malaria is reduced.
Finally, in partnership with UNICEF, a Mother's Support Group was formed to promote child nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding, infant and child care and health education. Specifically, mothers are empowered to initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth, breastfeed exclusively for the first six months and continue to breastfeed for two years or more, together with nutritionally adequate, safe, age appropriate, responsive complementary feeding starting at six months.