(submitted by Mark Ralston,State College,PA Office)
Sierra Leone(setting of the movie “Blood Diamond”) sank right to the bottom of the UN’s list of least-developed countries during its civil war in the 1990′s. Since then, the country has been recovering but, like many sub-Saharan countries, they still have a long way to go to graduate from the bottom of the least-developed countries list.
The Penn State Chapter of Engineers Without Borders spent time in Sierra Leone from the end of December 2011 through the first week of January 2012 working to develop a latrine for the Covenant Preparatory School and to improve water supplies for the village of Baoma (population ~600). The population of Baoma grew significantly during the Civil War in Sierra Leone as people were displaced from the interior provinces.
The PSU faculty advisor to the PSU EWB chapter invited me to be a Professional Geologist mentor to PSU EWB for water resources issues. We spent about a week in Baoma assessing water resource issues, and will be spending the next few months working on water supply improvement alternatives back here in the US.
I came back to the US with some clear impressions:
* the median per-capita income in the village of Baoma is probably at or below the Sierra Leone figure of $800 to $900 (US) per year (formerly as low as $200/year). Many of the villagers live from hand-to-mouth. There is no social safety net in Baoma.
* the children of the village of Baoma are extraordinarily fortunate to have Pastor Martin Simbo as leader of the Covenant Preparatory school.
* the village has done a lot to improve their water supply, but they can use some help to meet additional needs.
More information, including details on the water project, photos, and opportunities to donate to support the work, is posted at this website: Baoma, Sierra Leone or email Mark Ralston 814-234-3223.
Posted by converseconsultants 
