Recent humanitarian efforts from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Africa include providing relief to flooding survivors, building new boreholes and wells, constructing classrooms and bathroom facilities, and donating wheelchairs.
Read about the efforts below.
Flooding relief in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Church worked with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to provide 67 tons of food and other supplies to flood survivors in Kinshasa.
Around 670 households benefited from the assistance — receiving rice, beans, flour, sugar, salt, oil, soap, clothing and material.
Local Church leaders and officials delivered the donations on April 4. Welfare and Self-Reliance Services manager Didier Mutombo said this donation was “our way of showing love to our neighbors by giving them what help we can. This is just one example of our Christian faith as members of the Church of Jesus Christ.”
The Church’s Africa Newsroom reported that Akathos Bisingu, a resident of the Kinsuka fishing district who lost her home, could not hold back her tears at the gesture from the Church.
“God bless you,” she said.
Boreholes and wheelchairs in Sierra Leone
On March 30, the Church donated solar-powered borehole water projects to two communities in Moyamba District, Sierra Leone. Each village received two boreholes and 5,000-liter tanks (1320 gallons) with a solar-powered pump and community spigots.
Elder Locke Ettinger and Sister Carol Sue Ettinger, missionaries in the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission, helped with the effort.
“Before the wells they had to go far down to the swamp area to fetch their water. It was not clean. Now they have a source of clean water,” Elder Ettinger said. “The members of the village were instructed to take good care of the wells, and they were given full responsibility of their new water source. They were happy, with beautiful smiles and songs of thanks.”
In February, the Church distributed 300 wheelchairs, 100 sets of crutches and 100 canes to people in need in Freetown.
The Church also provided training at the Freetown Sierra Leone Stake Center to local technicians and physiotherapy students to help those with physical disabilities use their new mobility aids.
Hand-drilled wells and sanitation equipment in Liberia
On April 6, the Church donated a new trash collection vehicle and trash collection equipment to the city of Totota. The sanitation vehicle replaced one that had been used for 18 years and became unrepairable.
Totota was the site of a deadly tanker explosion last year that killed over 100 people. The Church made several donations of food and medical supplies after the disaster and ministered to those who had lost loved ones.
In December 2023, the Church worked with the nonprofit organization Concern Worldwide to donate seven hand-drilled wells with hand pumps to seven communities in Grand Bassa County.
Liberia is lush and green with many rainforests — making it one of the world’s wettest countries. But it lacks networks and resources to give many citizens access to clean drinking water.
Leaders from each of the communities expressed gratitude to the Church for the new wells that allow them to get water for drinking and cooking. Each of the communities also outlined a plan for maintaining the wells and pumps for generations to come, explained Africa Newsroom.
Elder Lee Trapani and Sister Cheryl Trapani, humanitarian missionaries for the Church in Liberia, represented the Church at the donation ceremonies.
“Prior to the new hand-drilled wells and water pumps, the communities were forced to use contaminated open wells or no wells at all, hauling water from the closest water sources, sometimes kilometers away,” Sister Trapani said.
She added that water-borne illness, especially among the children, was prevalent. But safer water will reduce sickness in the communities.
Health center, classrooms and bathrooms in Ghana
The farming community of Nwinsa, Ghana, has a new nurses quarters building and more medical equipment and supplies thanks to a donation from the Church.
The Church also provided solar-powered electricity to the facility — which allows it to be classified as a health center. The village struggled for years to provide adequate health care to its residents without electricity.
During the donation ceremony on March 28, Samuel Osei, the local assemblyman, thanked the Church. “The people of this community will forever cherish this church. They gave us our first-ever modern sanitation facility, and now our first-ever health center. We are profoundly grateful,” he said.
New classrooms and bathroom facilities donated by the Church to two district schools in Ghana helped improve conditions.
On April 2, the Church donated a fully furnished, ten-room classroom block, a 12-seat sanitation facility, and a complete water system to the District Assembly school in Kotwi.
Traditional leaders, community leaders and students had asked for help to fix the school’s infrastructure, as many students were sitting outside under trees to study.
The donation ceremony included traditional dance and student speakers. The Church leaders were presented with a citation from the community and a plaque was unveiled on the new classroom block.
On March 27, the Church officially marked delivery of a fully furnished six-unit classroom block with a library and a 10-seat sanitation facility to the Kokoben D/A Basic School.
Amankwaa Manu, member of Parliament in Ghana, spoke during the presentation, saying: “I would recommend your Church to anyone I meet. You do exactly what the Lord has commanded His disciples to be doing.”
In December 2023, a donation ceremony was held in the farming village of Bakpaba in Ghana to celebrate the construction of new bathroom facilities donated by the Church.
The new facilities improved water sanitation in the village and help decrease water-borne diseases. In Ghana, less than 25% of the population has access to basic toilet facilities, reported a news release about the donation from Africa Newsroom.
Traditional and government dignitaries joined Church leaders, including Tamale Ghana District President Isaac Nii Ayikwei Martey and humanitarian senior missionaries, in presenting the donation to community members.
“As members of the Church of Jesus Christ we serve our Savior by serving others,” said President Martey during the ceremony. “Our love for Jesus Christ is the reason that we give. We are trying to love and serve as He did.”
In gratitude and appreciation for the donation, the village residents presented President Martey yams and a goat.
