Louisiana Working for WASH
Briefing Prepared for ______
Improving Access to Clean Water Is at the Top of Americans’ Global Health Priorities
People in the state of Louisiana are leading the effort to solve the global safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenge. There are numerous faith-based, civic, and academic initiatives for WASH underway throughout the state. The top programs in the state include:
a) Rotary Districts 6190 and 6200 in Lafayette financially supported a $65,000 project that provided sanitation facility improvements and renovations for 31 schools in Mexico.
b) Kingsville Baptist Church partnered with Baptist Global Response to provide clean drinking water to hundreds of residents in Ecuador.
c) The Louisiana State University Engineers Without Borders Chapter partnered with the Baton Rouge Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders to drill a borehole, supply a water pump, install a water storage and distribution system, and construct latrines in The Gambia.
d) Sixth graders at Holy Cross School in New Orleans raised $3,850 through H2O for Life that supported the construction of a well for a primary school in Uganda.
Other notable efforts include:
Rotary Clubs in Louisiana
· Rotary District 6190, Northern Louisiana
o Funded a $44,000 project that installed six water wells near grade schools in rural Zambian communities
· Rotary District 6200, Lafayette
o Distributed water filters in primary schools as well as distributing filters to families to increase water access in Belize
· Rotary Club of Baton Rouge
o Rotarians traveled to Belize to provide water filters and water filter trainings to rural villagers
Faith-Based Organizations in Louisiana
· Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge
o Offers disaster relief services, including distribution of clean drinking water
· First Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge
o The Magruder family, members of First Presbyterian Church, are missionaries in Kenya and provide clean drinking water to Kenyan families through Living Water International
o Funded the construction of a rainwater tank, latrines, and handwashing stations at a community center in Uganda
· Life Church, Lafayette
o Children raised $200 for a water well project in Indonesia by hosting and “egg-cracking” fundraiser in the Children’s Church program
· Grace Community Methodist Church, Shreveport
o Traveled to Honduras to install water tanks, water filters, and outdoor latrines
o Sponsors annual mission trips to Haiti that implement community improvement projects focused on water and sanitation
· Kingsville Baptist Church, Ball
o Travels to Brazil and Ecuador on annual mission trips to increase access to clean drinking water in rural communities
Schools Universities in Louisiana
· Baton Rouge International School
o Raised funds through H2O for Life to support the construction of new latrines and distributed water purification packets at a primary school in Malawi
· Good Shepherd School, New Orleans
o Raised funds through H2O for Life to support the construction of two new wells for two schools in South Sudan
· Holy Cross School, New Orleans
o Teachers used “A Long Walk to Water” to teach students about the global water and sanitation crisis
o Raised $2,475 through H2O for Life that supported a WASH at a primary school in South Africa
· Louisiana Tech University – Engineers Without Borders Chapter, Ruston
o Raised funds and traveled to the Philippines to conduct a community assessment that assisted members in implementing a community water supply project
· Louisiana State University – Engineers Without Borders Chapter, Baton Rouge
o Hosted the South Central Regional Conference in 2012 that brought together EWB members from Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma to discuss water and sanitation projects and implementation strategies
WASH-Focused Organizations in Louisiana
· Engineers Without Borders – Baton Rouge Professional Chapter
o Engineered, funded, and installed a solar water system that provides potable water to a rural village in the Gambia
o Implemented a sustainable sanitation system consisting of composting latrines aimed at improving community hygiene in the Gambia
For more information, please contact John Oldfield at WASH Advocates:
202.293.4049 Updated: December 2015