We are four former Peace Corps Volunteers who have one thing in common: we served in the village of Agoua in Benin, West Africa. From the very first volunteer who served in 2009 to one of the most recent volunteers who served in 2019, we came together to give back to our community of service. Thank you for joining us.

 

 

 

Summary

Agoua’s primary health center needs a clean water source to ensure sanitary conditions for all patients and reduce the devastating effects of COVID19, infections, and other communicable diseases on those most in need. Funds raised will provide clean water easily accessible by the health center and surrounding community.

 

The Background

Agoua is an arrondissement (group of small villages) in the Bante commune in west-central Benin. The arrondissement is made up of three small villages and has a total population of approximately 10,000 people. It is an agriculturally-based community, primarily cashews. There are two seasons per year, a dry and a rainy season, and the wellbeing of the community and families depend on a successful cashew harvest each year.

 

The health center in Agoua services the whole arrondissement and is made up of two buildings, one primarily used for prenatal, birth, and postnatal care, and the other for the care of other illnesses like Malaria requiring IV medication and fluids. There is also a dispensary for common medications, immunizations, and testing. Patients requiring additional care, such as cesarean sections, trauma, severe illness, extensive lab work, or any care requiring imaging are referred to the hospital in Savalou, about 40 minutes south of Agoua. The health center is overseen by the head nurse Flora and has a staff of eight full time health assistants. The health center does have electricity to all rooms, but power cuts are frequent. There is no running water in the health center and patients use latrines and bucket showers and they or their families must haul needed water.

 

 

 

The Need

The health center in Agoua does not have a functional clean water source. Currently health center staff or patients must walk one kilometer to get water nearby and carry it back in buckets and basins. This water is not suitable for drinking.

 

Clean water is a basic necessity in a health center. Utilization of unclean water for the sterilization and cleaning of instruments, surfaces, and supplies utilized in the care of maternity and infectious disease patients creates a breeding ground for infection and spread of disease. Patients and health center workers should be able to receive and provide care instead of hauling water for bathing and cleaning. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need for regular handwashing and sanitizing of surfaces to prevent the spread and it can be very challenging in these rural communities to acquire sufficient quantities of hand and surface sanitizers.

 

 

The Solution

Providing the health center with a clean water source will improve the overall ability of the health center staff to provide high-quality, sanitary care for patients. Provision of a water tower will also ensure clean water is accessible even through regular cuts in power. Additionally, the health center will be able to recruit more highly qualified nursing staff; as things currently stand, health care workers know part of their job will be to just collect water every day, which discourages them from seeking employment there, and requires both patients and health center workers to haul water when they should be resting/healing and caring, respectively.

 

 

 

The Details

Funds raised will be used to finance drilling a borehole well into the clean water table inside the health center grounds, building a well, and putting up a water reservoir to ensure water is available during power cuts. The water will be tested often to ensure safety of use. The structure will not be complicated to use and maintain, and will be serviced when needed by technicians located in Bante.

 

The community supports this project and will provide much of the manual labor required as well as transportation of materials.

 

The water source will be utilized primarily by the health center patients and staff. The community outside the health center will be able to access this water source for a fee, and this fee will be used to fulfil health center needs and fund any necessary repairs for the water source. The collection and use of this fee will be overseen by the health center management committee which includes the head nurse. Mme Flora.

 

Budget: $12,000 (+$2000)

 

This budget includes geophysical studies, chemical and bacterial analysis, testing, drilling and equipment, construction of reservoir structure, pump installation, and transportation.

 

Detailed budget available upon request. This budget has been reviewed by project and technical experts and has been deemed sound. We have added $2000 to the GoFundMe goal to cover currency fluctuations and unexpected expenses common to this work. Any extra funds will be donated to the health center for new buckets, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, and maintenance on the water tower.

 

 

The Team

 

Timothee Mikpedo is the Chef D'Arrondissement, the elected executive of the Agoua commune. He has served in this position for decades and is well regarded and trusted by the Agoua community. He also served as counterpart for the Peace Corps Volunteers below, and attended many trainings and capacity building programs alongside these Volunteers. He’s committed to the people of Agoua and identified this critical need for the community. Timothee created and registered a non-governmental organization (NGO) organization called Mahanaim for the sole purpose of improving lives and supporting public health and educational initiatives in Agoua, and he is currently serving in the role of Director. This NGO is overseen by a board that supervises the activities of approximately 25 people and is registered as a recognized NGO with the government of Benin.

 

Krissy Close was the first Peace Corps Volunteer placed in Agoua working in the areas of environment and health from 2009-2011, and is from Duluth, Minnesota. Since her Peace Corps service, Krissy has worked for public health charities and NGOs in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Benin, Tanzania, and Liberia, as well as received her Master in Public Health from the University of Liverpool. Krissy currently lives in Pretoria, South Africa, and is working in international programs.

 

Krissy is working on this project because: Agoua had a tremendous impact on me and my career. It is where I fell in love with the field of public health and people and committed my life to the service of others and making the world a little bit better. I owe my career and passion to the people of Agoua and am eager to continue to support this community that gave me so much.

 

Katherine (Kate) Jeffries served as an Environmental Action Volunteer in Agoua from 2011-2013 and is from Pittsburgh, PA. After her Peace Corps service, she traveled to Togo, Ghana, and Tanzania before landing in Paris, France working in the tourism industry. She now lives and works in Barcelona, Spain as a tour operator.

 

Kate is working on this project because: Living in Agoua and serving in the Peace Corps was hands down the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. As time goes on I realize just how much of an impact Agoua had on me personally and professionally, and I can safely say that I would not have had the courage to continue seeking opportunities to work and live abroad had it not been for the two years I spent in Agoua. By continuing to work with Agoua on this project, I hope to give back what I can to this place that taught me so much and express my gratitude for everything this community has taught me.

 

Jaynellen Stokes-Walters, originally from Thorndale, TX, served as a Rural Community Health Volunteer in Agoua from 2013-2015 and as the Let Girls Learn Assistant Coordinator in Cotonou as a 3rd year volunteer. After Peace Corps, Jaynellen returned to the US and received her master’s degree in International Education Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. For the past two years has worked for the New York City-based non-profit Youth INC, first as a Program Coordinator and now as a Program Associate of Research and Strategic Initiatives.

 

Jaynellen is working on this project because: During my time in Agoua I worked with the community to expand and build new classrooms at the local high school. I helped raise funds for the project, but the whole project was owned and driven by the community. They found the resources needed to complete the project and poured their time and energy into overcoming challenges and making sure it was a success. I found that the fundraising efforts provided that final bit of energy that drove the project to completion, and that it maximized the existing network of resources the community was able to bring to bear to get the work done.

 

Ron Stokes-Walters, originally from Chattanooga, TN, served as an TEFL Volunteer in Benin from 2013 – 2015, and extended for a 3rd year in Cotonou working at PSI’s country office. During his service, Ron discovered a passion for public health, and after Peace Corps he received his master’s degree in Social and Behavioral Interventions from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. After grad school Ron worked for the humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger for 2.5 years, managing research projects in South Sudan, Somalia, and Mali. Ron now works for the Texas Department of State Health Services as a Program Evaluator, working with community-based organizations and local health departments to evaluate and measure the impact of local obesity-prevention programs.

 

Ron is working on this project because: Peace Corps service left a deep impression on my sense of what people should be able to access to live more fulfilling and present lives. One of the most memorable lessons was on the importance of accessible and safe water as a fundamental component for happier and healthier lives. When water is safe, easy to access, and readily available, people can devote their time and energy to other pursuits, but none of those things are guaranteed. I have worked in Water and Sanitation throughout my career, and I saw this project as an important opportunity to support a focused project that could bring meaningful and impactful change to people’s lives.

 

*Ron and Jaynellen met during their service, and got married after returning to the U.S. They now live in Austin, TX, with their three dogs.

 

Ginnie Lin served as a Rural Community Health volunteer from 2017-2019 and is from Gainesville, FL. After completing her Peace Corps service, she worked in Covid-19 response for a community nonprofit in Oregon before transitioning to federal service. She is currently residing in Phoenix, AZ where she works with rural health grants as a public health analyst. 

 

Ginnie is working on this project because: After returning to the U.S. and quickly going into a pandemic, I realized how deeply my time in Benin affected me as a person, and how special my community’s acceptance of me was. It changed my perspective on the intersections of community, generosity, and health and I’ve worked in public health since. It's important to me to give back to Agoua and all its members, because I want them to know that I never forgot their kindness.