Nigeria

Three health centers have been opened in Ebonyi State of Nigeria: Ephenium Health Center, Omege Health Center, and Offia Oji Health Center. In Abakaliki Local Government Area in Ebonyi State, AMURT has started working on water and sanitation programs. In August we signed an MOU with the local government council to provide water through boreholes to ten new villages and to rehabilitate broken boreholes in four more villages. AMURT is carrying out the program in partnership with NIWA, a local NGO.

In addition to the boreholes and repairs, AMURT has organized WASHCOMs (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committees) in each of the communities and provided comprehensive training for them. The training includes water management, repair and maintenance of the boreholes, human rights, conflict resolution, leadership and HIV/AIDS awareness.

The villagers also learned livelihood skills like soap making, pomade making and bead jewelry production. They were also taught how to make Tippy Tap, a unique way to facilitate hand washing, pioneered in India. Seven of the ten boreholes have been installed. The remaining three were delayed due to inaccessible roads. With the beginning of the dry season these villages are now accessible and will be completed in the next weeks.