Pam Everson introduced Richard Kagel, PhD, of the  Clean Water Project for Guinea-Bissau.  His personal story is most compelling and so, evoked the interest and compassion of all club members.
 
Initial Observations:
Dr. Kagel first traveled  to Guinea-Bissau to visit a long time employee and very close personal friend, who had moved back to his native country after retirement. The 69 hour trip was arduous.   He arrived in the country and was immediately confronted with unanticipated and truly frightening conditions of lives lived in extreme poverty.  The capital city, Bissau, has approximately 600,000 people. There is no electricity, no running water, and no sewage system.  Water borne diseases cause early deaths among the entire population and are especially prevalent in children and pregnant mothers.  Following a church service, where he was warmly welcomed, he visited the national hospital, a three-story building that had been built by the Portuguese in the 1940's. Every bed in the hospital was occupied with 1-3 patients. Many slept in the hallways or wherever there was floor space.  There were no doctors or nurses or other staff.  Families provided all of the care and food for ill relatives. There was no sanitation. It was clear that the sick came to the hospital to die. The magnitude of the poverty was immeasurable and was too significant to ignore. Right then and there, Dr. Kagel  made up his mind that he would do something to help the people of this forgotten country.
Guinea-Bissau is the poorest of nations in Africa. Dr. Kagel likened it to “West Africa on steroids”.  It has long been a land of political and military turmoil with countless coups, revolutions, and armed battles. Landmines litter the countryside; casualties are quite frequent.  There has been no semblance of a stable central government to provide for the basic needs of its people.  Infrastructure is just a word.   He likens Guinea-Bissau to an orphan country, ignored by all.  They have not benefited by aide from international nonprofit foundations or corporations. It simply doesn't exist in their minds.  Only the church that he visited has had some nonprofit funding and has used those funds to build simple structures for schools and orphanages.
 
Details of Daily Life:
People live on approximately $2 per day in this country. Gasoline is $9 gallon. Life expectancy is 48 years. One in ten infants will die before the age of one year. One in seven children who live beyond their first birthday will die by the age of 5. The average education of people in Guinea-Bissau is 4th grade, and is declining. The practice of female genital mutilation renders horrific consequences.  Many women die in childbirth because of that practice if they live through the ordeal in the first place.
Homes typically are built around the well that services 3 or 4 families. Many of the wells are simply open holes in the ground, into which children fall to their death. Closely adjacent to the wells are crude latrines, a ready source of contamination of any drinkable water.
 
A Way Forward:
Clean water is a basic need to be addressed.   Dr. Kagel has made a total of 5 trips to the country in order to create partnerships with leaders in Bissau.  After investigating feasible means of water purification, he came upon the Canadian branch of Potters for Peace. This organization assists local citizens in building their own plants to manufacture water filtering units.  They can then sell those units thereby providing a much needed water filtering system to their people as well as generating a viable economy.  The plant is actually in construction at the present time, and it is anticipated that the first filters will be available within the next 3-4 months. With the simple provision of safe drinking water, many of their enteric diseases that cause so much illness and death can be avoided.  The goal is to make this a sustainable program throughout the country and a self-sufficient source of employment for its people.
 
Here's Where We Come In:
Dr. Kagel has worked diligently to educate our local community about this project and has gained support from numerous churches, service clubs, schools, and other community service organizations. To him, it seems as though the City of Healdsburg has adopted the country of Guinea-Bissau.  Town support is increasing with each of his presentations.  There will be a Healdsburg-wide fundraiser for this project sometime in March with featured speaker Almamo Danfa, Director of West African Vocational Schools.  Steve Pile, a local musician who is helping to build a music school in the neighboring country of The Gambia will perform music on the Kora, an African harp originating from Guinea-Bissau.
The Healdsburg Sunrise International Committee has taken up this cause and has been awarded a $1052.00 Matching District Grant to assist in this mission.  This story has touched the hearts of us all.  We have made a start.  For information on the filtering system please go to: