PLANS FOR 2017 – WATER FOR ALL

One of the key barriers to defeating poverty in Africa is access to clean water, which has a completely debilitating impact on a community.

Giving access to clean water, through creating a borehole, will also give a community:

• control over their health and hygiene
• time to be used in school or business development, rather than collecting water
• increased food production with efficient irrigation
• dignity as they take responsibility for maintaining this precious facility and control of their lives.

Starting in Ghana, where the charity has completed extensive research and run pilot projects, Serving Hands UK aims to build 180 boreholes to give many rural villages access to water.  This will help to reach the three million people who have no choice but to drink contaminated water.

Each borehole will cost £4,000 which will include training volunteers in the community to maintain the borehole and setting up a sustainable system within the community to ensure funding is available for this maintenance to continue.  Giving communities control for their facilities is key to this project.

COMMUNITY LIBRARIES

Education is a crucial element in achieving our mission to empower individuals to identify the social and economic problems and seek the solutions to bring their communities out of poverty.

Education needs to be accessible to the whole community to bring about long-term change.  Community libraries would enable access to a wide range of information and learning which will impact the whole community.

• Give children access to books to improve literacy and do research
• Give children a place to study and do homework
• Provide access to information for businesses and healthcare facilities
• Provide access to computers and digital resources.
• Give the community a central place for talks, meetings and information

Starting in Ghana, Serving Hands UK aims to build 15 community libraries in remote villages and small towns.  Currently there is only one library in Ghana in the capital Accra.  As the literacy rate continues to increase access to information becomes an ever more important tool to help communities develop and grow.

Each library will cost £40,000, which, along with the building and books, will include computers and access to digital resources.  The charity will also train volunteers in the community to run and maintain the library and all the equipment.  Creating a strong sense of ownership within the community will be important in ensuring the on-going maintenance of the library.  Giving communities the responsibility and control of the library is key to this project.