LifeStraw distribution in villages on Lamu Island

On Saturday, February 23, 2008, UIC Global Village launched its pilot project in the small villages of Kandahar, Kashmir and Bombay on Lamu Island. At a community meeting organized by local leaders, about 100 Life Straws were distributed to people whose drinking water is contaminated. The event served as an important public awareness campaign about the links between recent outbreaks of diarrheal diseases in the area and contamination of the well water. Respected members of the community educated villagers about the need to clean water from the well before consuming it and explained how to reduce further water contamination by properly disposing of waste.













In the photo above, Mr. Ngeti, Public Health Officer for Amu Division, describes recent test results showing that the area's well water is not safe to drink without cleaning it first.


Chief Adnan informs villagers about the area's high water level that often mixes with waste from pit latrines, and explains how each household can help reduce contamination of drinking water.







Mohammed Swaleh, imam of Kandahar Mosque, urges people to share what they've learned at the event with their neighbors and to work together in improving the health of everyone.











Kristina Dziedzic Wright from UIC explains how to use a LifeStraw.










Community leader Saida Makombo tries out a LifeStraw for the first time, concluding "Ni rahisi kutumia." (It's easy to use.)
















A volunteer from the Lamu Red Cross and Said Athman, head man (elder) of Kandahar hand out straws. The names and locations of everyone who took a straw were recorded so that community leaders could monitor the usage and effectiveness of this intervention strategy.

Partners with UIC for Project Global Village in Lamu were the region's Red Cross chapter, Eco-Sanitation Group, Chonjo Community Action Group, and local authorities. The Lamu chapter of the Red Cross offers organizational development, disaster relief and health education for Lamu District. Eco-Sanitation Group promotes environmental conservation and works to provide safe and affordable sanitation for all of Lamu's residents. Chonjo Community Action Group (CCAG) is a community-based organization that focuses on civic education projects to enhance the island environment, to support cultural conservation and to promote drug awareness in the community. CCAG publishes Lamu Chonjo, a quarterly magazine that tackles many of these issues within its pages.

Special thanks to Mohammed Athman, Patron of Eco-Sanitation Group, for all his many efforts in making this project a success, and to Hadija Bwanaadi Ernst, Editor of Lamu Chonjo and CCAG Chairperson, for valuable insight and moral support as well as photographing the event. Shukrani!

Introducing Project Global Village at UIC

Through Project Global Village, UIC partners with humanitarian service organizations, corporations and foundations to create a series of philanthropically supported service-learning initiatives. Many UIC faculty and graduate students return repeatedly to the same communities for long-term projects. They learn the local languages, customs/traditions and develop trusting relationships with community leaders. Project Global Village will support the development of these relationships by providing opportunities for faculty and students to improve the health, well-being and education of people in communities around the world where UIC researchers work.

A Pilot Run

UIC Graduate College alumna and current employee Kristina Dziedzic and her husband David Wright (also a UIC Graduate College alumnus) have returned to Kenya where they each completed research projects for their graduate degrees. David, who currently is a post-doctoral research associate with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has a National Geographic Society Explorers Grant to do an archaeological survey in the Lake Turkana/Chalbi Desert region. Project Global Village will begin on a small scale to test the concept while Kristina and David are in Kenya until mid-March.

The pilot project will distribute 500 personal water filtration devices to people in Kenya who have limited or no access to safe drinking water. LifeStraw® is a portable water purification tool made by the Vestergaard-Frandsen Company headquartered in Switzerland. The cylindrical device is about 25 cm long and 3 cm in diameter with a series of screens, carbon particles and resin filters inside that remove 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 98.7% of waterborne viruses from any source of water. Use of the LifeStraw® prevents diseases like diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid and cholera.

Photographs and stories from the field will be posted to this blog, so check back often to follow UIC Global Villagers around the world! To get involved or learn more, please send us an email or visit the Graduate College website. As we say in Swahili, safari njema (have a nice trip)…