Liberia: CHF International Ends CLTS Workshop in Bong
…As Participants Vow To Be True Ambassador – By: WASH R&E Network – An International Charity, the Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF-International), has ended an eight-day workshop on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Gbarnga, Bong County with for over thirty participants in attendance.
Participants at the Natural Leaders CLTS Workshop in Gbarnga, Bong County
The workshop organized by CHF-International Liberia in collaboration with the Government of Liberia with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was intended to train County Level Facilitators (CLF) and Natural Leaders (NL) under its CLTS Project.
Natural Leaders CLTS demonstration in Gbarnga, Bong County
CHF-International Liberia Coordinator on Community Mobilization and Empowerment, Elizabeth Geddeh, said the County Level Facilitators were drawn from various Government Ministries as well as local and international partners on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) who will work along with the Natural Leaders in their respective communities.
County Level Facilitators CLTS Workshop in Gbarnga, Bong County
Madam Geddeh said the County Level Facilitators came from the several line Ministries including Public Works, Internal Affairs, Education, Planning and Economic Affairs, Lands, Mines and Energy, Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS), Bong County Health Team, as well as Traditional Council, Adventist Development Agency (ADRA) and the Liberia Center for Community Empowerment and Rehabilitation (LICCER).
Group photo of the CLTS Natural Leaders in Bong County
She explained that the Natural Leaders were community dwellers who cooperated with the County Level Facilitators during outreach exercises carried out in their various communities by the members of the (CLF) to ensure their communities are open defecation free or pupu free.
Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) demonstration by students in Kponyea, Bong County
Madam Geddeh also said the CLTS Initiative is to sensitize community dwellers to take the lead in creating good sanitation in their respective communities and ensure good hygiene practices among themselves.
A Student representing the children of Douyea, in Bong County at the Natural Leaders CLTS Workshop
The CHF-International Liberia Community Mobilization and Empowerment Coordinator mentioned that the County Level Facilitators and the Natural Leaders are been trained to ensure that dwellers of the twenty-two communities selected under its CLTS Project address their own sanitation needs.
Some of the twenty-two communities in Bong County where CHF-International and partners are carrying out the Community Led Total Sanitation Initiative include Douyea, Kponyea, Gbarsue, Geayea, Kanagai and Gbanyea.
Other communities are Gbokpaipala, Moita, Dahn, Gwen, Bucket Banamah, Sengbah, Fine-boy, Kolleh Gaita James Flomo, Henry Kpangbai, Moses Quannah and Sergeant Flomo.
Speaking at the end of the workshop, the participants vowed to be true ambassadors of CHF-International and its partners under the Community Led Total Sanitation Initiative (CLTS) by sensitizing residents of Bong County, how to control open defecation.
They said what they have acquired from the workshop will be extended to other residents because, when open defecation is controlled, sickness and death rates will reduce greatly in Bong County, noting that pupu counts from diarrhea, running stomach and cholera.
During the workshop, the participants were taught the genesis of CLTS, spreading and scaling process, pre-trigging and triggering, post-triggering, scaling up and beyond as well as knowledge sharing on latrine issue in Liberia (cultural belief and traditional practices), among others.
Besides, Bong County, the Cooperative Housing Foundation International is carrying out the Community Led Total Sanitation Initiative in Lofa and Counties.
Several field visits were made from which the various communities and residents begin to construction of personal latrines, as they pledged to make their towns and villages defecation free within three months or 90 days.
As part of the Workshop, the County Steering Committee on Bong County Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) was setup and headed by the County Superintendent with the various Ministries of Government of Liberia as members.
CHF-International Liberia is a leading Organization in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector of the Country.
CHF-International Liberia is also operating in Lofa and Nimba Counties. In Lofa, it is operating in Salayea, Voinjama, Zorzor, Kolahun, Foya, Vahun. In Nimba, CHF-International Liberia is in Gbellay-geh, Secleapea, Sanniquelle-Mahn, Tappita, Zoegeh, and Yarwein Mehnsonnah.
