by heather-cstars | Nov 21, 2017 | education, Liberia, Thank You, Uniting Distant Stars, vocational training, youth development, Youth Empowerment
Our team completed their six days of training on November 18 with Friendly Water of the World. This training provided a great deal of knowledge about clean water and how to use the filtration system to remove harmful pathogens. We are extremely grateful to our two sponsors, Yeamah Brewer and John Buettner, who helped cover our team’s food and transportation.
The following photos show what they learned each day
Day 2 involved washing the gravel and sand that will be used in the filter.
Day 3 included sifting the sand and a demonstration of how to use the filter.
Day 4 they continued to work in preparing to make the filter from the mold.
Day 5 included group work on how to implement the filtration system into the communities. Also, the trainers–Wayne, Ken, and Alisa–visited our center. Kelvin presented Wayne & Ken with country cloth shirts he made (weaving), and Alisa received one of our backpacks that our youth made from recycled plastic.
Day 6 they were able to test their second mold and celebrate their graduation.
by heather-cstars | Nov 14, 2017 | education, Liberia, Thank You, Uniting Distant Stars, vocational training, youth development, Youth Empowerment
Our team of eight started their first day of BioSand Water Filtration Training on November 13th. This first day included: an introduction to different types of pathogens that cause water-borne diseases, a discussion on the problems faced in each trainees’ community, and a demonstration on how to build a BioSand Filter.
All the participants had a chance to punch holes into a 10″x10″ piece of metal with a hammer and nail. This is the diffuser that is placed on top of the sand. The water is poured over it.
In the next few days, they will learn how to build a BioSand Water Filter and how to use the system to improve the water in their communities.
Here are some photos from Day 1.
Roseline Sonday is working with one of the trainers on punching holes in the sheet metal to be used as a diffuser.
Kelvin Fomba is bending the diffuser that will be placed in the filter when it is complete.
UDS Team left to right: Dauda Dassin, Roseline Sonday, Kelvin Fomba (co-founder & director), Boakai Dillion, Godfrey Solomon, Davidlyn Yarkpah, William H. Josiah, and Isaiah Zayzay (taking the team photo).
Thank you to Roseline Sonday and Kelvin Fomba for sharing their first day’s activities, and Roseline and Isaiah Zayzay for taking photos.
by heather-cstars | Nov 7, 2017 | education, Liberia, Uniting Distant Stars, vocational training, youth development, Youth Empowerment
We are always grateful when our Star Supporters refer Uniting Distant Stars (UDS) to great learning opportunities! We extend our heartfelt Thanks to Yeamah Brewer for connecting us to Friendly Water for the World, based out of Olympia, Washington! Friendly Water for the World is providing a BioSand Water Filtration training on November 13th-18th to five organizations in Liberia.
UDS will be sending eight (three volunteer staff members & five students) to attend this six-day training. They will receive tools and knowledge on how to use this system to “remove pathogens and suspended solids” from the water. And, they will have an opportunity to network with the other organizations and work together in learning how to provide safe and clean water to their fellow citizens.
Each organization will also learn how to produce and manage a BioSand Water FIltration Program using locally-sourced materials. This will enable us to train our students on how to provide clean, safe water as a business. This program is helping to decrease the number of cases of water-borne diseases, like Cholera, and helping to protect the environment, by reducing the waste created by using plastic water bottles.
We look forward to sharing more about the experiences of our team post-training, and our plans to develop this program at our training center. We are thrilled about this empowering opportunity!
