On the behalf of the school fraternity and surrounding community, we are grateful to have been chosen to receive support on health matters from your office.

Yours in service,

Penina Owiti, Headteacher, Ragen AIC Primary School

Kisumu County is a region surrounded by the great Lake Victoria, several permanent rivers, and dams. People living there have no problem acquiring water for general domestic use. However, having clean drinking water has been a problem since time immemorial, due to little or no knowledge of the importance of treating water and preventing it from becoming contaminated.

Fortunately, donors have enabled Lifewater Canada to team up with Stada, a non-government organization from Kisumu County, to teach the residents the importance of health, hygiene, and sanitation. The program focuses on personal hygiene, which includes water treatment, and protecting the environment, including their water sources.

The hour-long sessions held in schools, churches, community centres and other locations involve everyone from a community regardless of age, gender, social, economic, and political status. Provided they are available, they show up.

The interesting and interactive sessions always reveal that local people have a lot to learn, but also a willingness to learn and to improve their living situations by making small changes to their lifestyles. The changes aren't financially costly, which is good news for many families trying to survive on less than a dollar a day.

The schools visited by Stada are eager to keep their students in class instead of frequent visits to the hospital to treat sicknesses caused by poor hygiene and sanitation. For the students' parents, better hygiene and sanitation translates to healthy living and less spending on hospital visits, which make the learning sessions even more welcome.

Your donations enabled Lifewater and Stada to visit these communities:

• Othuche Village  -- 14 participants
• Rae Market Community -- 41 participants
• Rae Primary School -- 21 participants
• Ragen MHM Primary School-- 39 participants
• Ragen AIC Primary School -- 34 participants