Well usage in Kalebuka
The Georges Malaika Foundation, our partner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recently conducted a survey to measure the usage of the Voss Foundation Kalebuka village well, funded by Give a Drop in 2010. Survey results indicated that all the women were very happy with the well. It has improved their lives significantly, and has resulted [...]
Celebration in Swaziland!
The Ntontozi Water and Sanitation Project in the KaNdinda Chiefdom in Swaziland seek to address the water, sanitation and hygiene threats faced by women artisans affiliated with Gone Rural and Rosecraft. 6300 people in the Ntontozi Manzini Region will benefit from this project. “Sod Cutting” in Swaziland is a ceremony whereby the community leaders acknowledge the [...]
Rivercess project completed in Mendeh!
The rehabilitation of an existing well and construction of a new hand pump in Mendeh Town, Rivercess County, Liberia, is now complete. Thanks to Voss Foundation, through the Lene Maria for Rent Vann campaign, and in partnership with FACE Africa, 350 people in Mendeh Town now have access to clean water! The Mendeh Town Clean [...]
Meet Sarah, a star student at the GMF School for Girls!
Meet Sarah. Sarah Umba Ilunga is a kind, ambitious, and hardworking third grader. On a typical day, she rises at the crack of dawn to get ready for school. When she arrives, she focuses hard on her classes and practices writing and math. During recess she enjoys playing soccer with her friends. After a long day [...]
Ngobe Jabulane talks about clean water
Our first project in Swaziland, funded by Women Helping Women 2012, is making great progress! The community training and sanitation components are complete, and construction will soon begin on the water access points. The overwhelming community participation during training led to an expansion of the original project scope, and we were able to reach more [...]
Toby Town defies bedrock to find clean water!
The Voss Foundation clean water project in Toby Town, part of our larger project to bring clean water to five communities in Rivercess County, Liberia – funded by Lene Maria for Clean Water – is well under way! Once complete, the Toby Town handpump will provide 500 people with clean water access! There has been [...]
“What water means to me,” from a Kenyan student perspective
This picture was drawn by a student in the Samburu region of Kenya, in response to the question, “What does water mean to you?” It was sent to us by our local implementing partner, Milgis Trust. We love it because it shows how having a tap near your house and being connected to water is so [...]
Spring is in the air!
Flowers grow at the Georges Malaika School for Girls in Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo! Clean water provides not only health and education for girls like Julienne, but beauty and joy as well! We thank Women Helping Women for the support that made our clean water project at the GMF School for Girls a [...]
Headmaster thanks “Lene Maria for Clean Water” campaign on behalf of students
Before, our children had to fetch water from the stream and carry the water to the school. For the first time [there] is running water in the school. Please take our gratitude – God bless you. We will be with you to remember Lene Maria. – David, Headmaster, Masiketa School The school at Masiketa, in [...]
Meet Teresa!
Voss Foundation Executive Director Kara Gerson talked to Teresa when she visited Liberia last May. Teresa told her what life was like before we brought clean water to the Hope Mission School in Paynesville. She was happy things have changed!
Project at Sengbloh complete, first in Rivercess!
The first of the five hand pumps included in the Lene Maria for Clean Water project in Rivercess is now complete, providing access to 400 people in Sengbloh! We’re proud to be launching our County-by-County program in the River Cess with the Voss Foundation and look forward to working together to address the county’s challenge [...]
Meet Julienne!
Julienne Masangu Baruani is a bright first grader at the Georges Malaika School for Girls in Kalebuka. She is 6 years old and the third eldest in her family. She enjoys coming to school every day, and really likes reading in French class. When she gets home, she enjoys playing with her brother before eating her [...]
Carrots!
Pictured here are the first carrots from the garden at the Georges Malaika School for Girls, in Kalebuka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, made possible by access to water from Voss Foundation! Voss Foundation’s well on-site at the school is the only source of water for the school, serving the kitchen, toilets, sinks, and health [...]
Atseda’s Story of Hope
Meet Atseda. Access to clean water changed her life. Voss Foundation built the clean water project in her village in Tigray region, in partnership with Water.org and the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) in 2011. Water so close to home, she can go to school. Water so clean and healthy, she can pursue her dreams. [...]
First update from Swaziland!
Our first project in Swaziland, funded by Women Helping Women 2012, is well under way and making great progress! The community training and sanitation components are complete, and construction will soon begin on the water access points! Voss Foundation initially funded 5 boreholes and 30 pit latrines in KaNdinda and Ngoyiya communities. Read below to see [...]
New Project in Rivercess County, Liberia!
Voss Foundation is pleased to announce our third project in Liberia in collaboration with FACE Africa! Rivercess is also the third project funded by Lene Maria for Rent Vann, an incredible grassroots campaign in Norway, started by the Bergum family. This project will provide access to clean water and sanitation to approximately 3,500 people in five different [...]
Kenya Diaries, Part II: The Opening Ceremony!
Our European Representative Cecilie Malm Brundtland (on the left, in the photo above) led the Bergum family on a site visit to attend the opening ceremony of their first clean water project, in Masiketa, Kenya, in memory of Lene Maria Bergum. Here is Cecilie’s report, in her own words: February 22 (Friday) Friday morning we [...]
Kenya Diaries: Cecilie Chronicles the Journey to Masiketa!
Our European Representative Cecilie Malm Brundtland (on the left, in the photo above) led the Bergum family on a site visit to attend the opening ceremony of their first clean water project, in Masiketa, Kenya, in memory of Lene Maria Bergum. Here is Cecilie’s report, in her own words: Kim Riseth (editor) + Bjørn Tore [...]
Swazi artisans benefit from clean water!
Jabu Sibandze is an artisan employed by Gone Rural, one of Voss Foundation’s local implementing partners in the Middleveld of Swaziland. Gone Rural is a Swaziland-based artisan organization. In addition to empowering women and alleviating poverty through fair trade, Gone Rural runs a wide variety of programs to improve the lives of women and children [...]
New project at Kpor Town in Liberia!
Voss Foundation is pleased to announce our second project in Liberia in collaboration with FACE Africa! Kpor Town is also the second project funded by Lene Maria for Rent Vann, an incredible grassroots campaign in Norway, started by the Bergum family. The Kpor Town water project includes the construction and installation of one hand dug [...]
Project implementation at Masiketa, Kenya!
Implementation of the new Voss Foundation clean water system in Masiketa – our fifth in Kenya – is in full swing! Our partner Milgis Trust just sent us photos of the work being done. A solar pump will pipe clean water over 2.5 kilometers to various access points throughout the community, providing clean water to [...]
Kalebuka, 1.5 years later!
It’s so important to us to be able to follow up with our project partners, to see how Voss Foundation clean water projects are impacting the community – even years after project completion! In our 2012 video, we noted that the opening ceremony is just the beginning – Voss Foundation clean water projects are an [...]
Kinslahafti’s Story
Meet Kinslahafti. Share her story of joy! Voss Foundation built the clean water project in her village in Tigray region, in partnership with Water.org and the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) in 2011. (Video courtesy of Water.org.)
Off to Masiketa!
Project implementation begins! Frances the technician (pictured right) and Jacob the welder (pictured left) left for Masiketa today with a truck full of supplies. The drive takes all day (in the best of conditions – though it was raining when they left, which can slow down transportation in the hills). The past four days were [...]