Sanitation in Gondokoro
Lying to the North East of Juba, Gondokoro is an incredibly fertile region of South Sudan on the banks of the White Nile river. However, hygiene and sanitation provision here is extremely low. This causes drastic problems especially during times of flooding where river water submerges households and carries with it diseases and sewage which has not been properly treated. Rates of open defecation are high, with just one latrine serving the entire community, and as a result contraction of diarrhoea and cholera are everyday risks.
In this context it is easy to see why Remijo and staff at Trumpeter Community Health were eager to begin work here! Through your support for our Christmas appeals and a generous donation from a supporting organisation this has been made possible and the Trumpeters have now successfully moved in. Thank you for making this happen! Tabitha reports on their early work in the following areas:
Household Sanitation Visits
The Trumpeters began working here in January by visiting households and teaching parents about the importance of safe water treatment – while showing them how they can reduce the risk of spreading disease in their homes. This was later accompanied with the distribution of water purification tablets to such households – providing further immediate aid in improving household levels of sanitation and health.
School Visits
As well as going door-to-door, the Trumpeters have had the opportunity to enter local schools. They lead sessions in teaching children the importance of sanitation and the measures they can take to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading disease. Lessons in handwashing were also open to the local community.
Viola Pita from St. Dominic Primary School (pictured) is one student who took part. Trumpeter workers from local church communities run most of these sessions. We are so encouraged that such groups are willing to help others even without directly benefitting themselves. What a great testimony of the Church’s activity and love in local communities in South Sudan! Praise God.
Latrines
With just one latrine in the area, it is easy to see why sanitation here is so poor. Rates of open defecation are particularly high here. In all their activities the Trumpeters have emphasised the importance of the dangers of such a practice and have begun the process of planning for and digging additional latrines for the community. Further to this, they have shown community members how the latrines are constructed, in the hope that men and women from Gondokoro might build their own in the future.
Praise God for this new expansion! Please pray that the Trumpeters would work hard in helping those most in need to be safe against the threat of waterborne disease. Please pray too that their presence and the support of the local church here would bear much fruit in offering the eternal hope of the Lord Jesus to many.
If you would like to partner with the Trumpeters in this expansion you can give £5 by texting ‘Trumpet’ to 70450 or by heading to our donate page.
