Partnership to advance community development projects in Africa

Friday, December 9, 2011

OSU students get training in the proper construction of water filters with the use of a demonstration model.

Partnership to advance community development projects in Africa

A group of OSU students will travel to West Africa over winter break to help upgrade drinking water quality in Sierra Leone and help advance a culture of community investment. The students, members of Student Association of Global Affairs, have been collaborating with the OSU Office of International Trade and Development to raise funds for OSU’s West Africa community development projects.

“Funds raised are being used to purchase supplies for water testing and water well installation equipment in addition to offsetting student costs for future OSU West Africa community development projects,” said Kate Arroyo, trade and development assistant, OSU Office of International Trade and Development. “During the winter break of 2011, several students from OSU will be traveling to Sierra Leone to work with local community members and Njala University students to further educate them about water quality and purification systems.”

While there, students will be building several bio-sand water filters researched and produced from OSU engineering department guidelines. All the students attending the trip in December have been trained to construct the water filters with the use of a demonstration project. The project helped the students understand the difficulties and realities of building a simple, re-creatable water filter.

Water-related diseases cause 80 percent of all deaths and illnesses in the developing world. In Sierra Leone, diarrhea is the leading killer of children under five, according to the United Nations.

Money for the trip was raised by selling items such as purses, jewelry, clothing and woodcarvings from West Africa, South Africa, Central America and South America. This “international market” was available at multiple OSU events throughout the year—the Creativity Festival, Fair Trade Market, Eco-Fest, Student Union Farmer’s Market (throughout the summer), Gardner Gallery Harms Collection of African Art reception and International Education Week at the Wes Watkins Center.

The OSU Office of International Trade and Development at Wes Watkins center focuses on assisting communities in developing countries to meet basic needs for food, water, education and health. The Office currently has projects in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Development projects are chosen to provide assistance to non-governmental organizations and as an opportunity for service projects and experiential learning for OSU students.