SOUTH SUDAN – Water Purification Project

In South Sudan, the third poorest country in the world, one child in ten dies before the age of five, principally due to poor sanitation. Three key areas of concern are the prevalence of open defecation, the absence of handwashing with soap, and the drinking of untreated river water, when few transport facilities for the delivery of clean water exist. These three problems all contribute to the hygiene crisis across South Sudan.

Against this background the Trumpeter Communal Health Project (TCHP) was established in 2014 by Anglican International Development in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Local THCP workers make house visits, explaining the dangers of poor sanitation and teaching good hygiene practice. They offer advice on water purification, teach the benefits of handwashing and promote the installation of latrines.

The cholera outbreak of 2016 in South Sudan resulted in 20,438 cases and 436 deaths. However as of September 2018, no new cases of cholera had been reported in the areas of Juba where the Trumpeter workers operate. This is clear evidence that, alongside larger operators such as UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, the Trumpeters are making considerable progress in the fight against preventable disease.

As an example of the work done by the THCP, from September 2017 to September 2018 TCHP workers visited some 10,080 households. Sessions included teaching handwashing with soap, and, in the absence of fresh water, the distribution of chlorine tablets for water purification. As this work continues into 2020, the continued distribution of these tablets is where we can contribute. Our donation will cover the cost of purchasing and distributing water purification tablets to 500 households in Gondokoro, a particularly needy suburb of Juba.

Project update:
During May and June, health waorkers reached soem 840 households, teaching 5,700 people and distributing some 16,000 purification tablets. 280 of these households, in the Juba suburb of Gondocoro were directly funded by our donation.

Completion Report:
All of the water purification tablets we funded – some 30,640 in total - were distributed in Gondokoro. Some 1,453 households received tablets and as each household consists of on average 7 members, a very rough figure of beneficiaries would be 10,150 people.

A total of 2,717 households were visited during this time, and the Instructors explained at length the benefits of water purification tablets, so that the water purification tablets distributed acted as an example to prove to people that clean water is worth investing in.

Distribution of tablets and household training visits in were completed by July 2020.