Clean Water for Life
“We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation and basic health care.” – Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General.
A huge population of people living on our planet has to go through great lengths just to get a clean bath or even a drink of water. Many children worldwide get sick and die as a result of acute microbial infections contracted through the consumption of contaminated water. In many developing countries like Ghana, the availability of clean water for daily sustenance is meager. According to the 2006 United Nations Human Development Report, the water and sanitation crisis claims many more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. UNICEF reports that the lack of essential sanitation and contaminated water claims the lives of more than 1.5 million children every year, mostly through water-borne diseases.
At REACH, we believe that this is simply unacceptable. Our interest in the water and sanitation problem begins with our work in slum communities near the capital city of Accra like Glefe, where lack of sanitation and access to clean water leads to high incidences of diarrhea and malaria. Therefore, we are beginning our interventions in Glefe and in other slum communities near Accra. We are starting by advocating proper hand-washing and safer hygienic practices. We are working with manufacturers to provide water filtration and storage tools for home use at low cost. We are providing public toilets and improved waste management systems. Above all, we are harnessing solar energy to provide water purification systems in these communities.
Clean Water for Life will also provide accompanying education for inhabitants of these communities on the importance of making proper use of the facilities provided, as well as training for committees within these communities to ensure that these clean water and sanitation resources are maintained in the long term. As such, this working group underscores not only the importance of providing safe water and sanitation to spare many a life, but also the need to sustain them for the long term – for life!
Project Director
Angela Choi holds a Bachelors degree in Finance from George Mason University’s School of Management and currently works as a Financial/Risk Analyst with the Travelers Insurance Companies, Inc. She previously worked for Bank of America and plans enrolling in an MBA program in the near future. Before starting college in the US, Angela lived in Ghana where she volunteered extensively as an aid to a group of doctors who provided free consultation and treatment to the people of Ada, Ghana. During her high school years at Wesley Girls in Cape Coast, she was actively involved in the Red Cross and the American Field Society where she went on regular village outreach programs to educate and provide local children and youth with basic first aid. As a member of the college co-ed professional fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, she continued to actively participate in community work, serving as the vice president of community services for the Alpha Iota class.
At her current job, she is a member of the Diversity Committee and Invest, which guides high school children in choosing career paths for themselves. Angela has found tremendous gratification in helping others in the past and would like to continue down that path. Angela’s general interests include issues concerning preventive health, and education and empowerment within communities. She believes that raising awareness of the importance of preventive health care and encouraging resource management in communities with limited resources is key to ensuring sustainable and comprehensive help. Angela loves cooking, trying new dishes, reading, watching movies and traveling.
Email: angela.choi@reachghana.org
