Health & Nutrition

Since 2017, 13-year-old Musu’s community in Kailahun District, has struggled with waterborne illnesses like diarrhea and cholera due to contaminated water sources. The poor health conditions inspired 14-year-old Musu to become a nurse to educate her community about the dangers of drinking contaminated water. 

When she was 8, she fell terribly ill. It started with diarrhea. It was painful, frightening, and relentless. “I felt like something was walking in my stomach,” she recalled. She was throwing up, rushing to the toilet with frequent, bloody stools, and her body ached all over. She grew weak and pale. 

Musu had to miss school for an entire week. When she returned, her classmates were ahead in their lessons. ‘’I feel bad about my colleagues being ahead of me in class, each time I had to be absent  from school as a result of an illness,’’ she said disappointingly. Though her friends helped her copy notes, Musu knew that nothing could replace being present in class, understanding the lessons for herself. That experience stayed with her. It made her want to become a nurse even more so that no other child would have to miss school because of a preventable illness. 

“I would like to be a nurse in the future, so I can help treat people to prevent them from dying like my friend, Musu,” she said emotionally.

“Back in 2017, diarrhea was rampant in our community,” said Bockarie Koneh, community teacher in Musu’s community. The water we were drinking was contaminated.

But Musu’s story is also one of deep loss. That same year in 2017, Musu’s friend died from severe diarrhea, and Musu herself fell ill and had to seek treatment in a nearby community due to a lack of local healthcare facilities. “My friend’s name was also Musu. She woke up one morning, holding her stomach and crying. They rushed her to the clinic, but she died on the way,” she remembered her friend. Members of the community agreed the two were inseparable. 

The community’s situation began to improve in 2019 when ChildFund introduced the Children’s Safe Drinking Water project funded by Procter & Gamble (P&G). The project aimed to provide safe drinking water to rural communities lacking sustainable potable water sources. P&G’s water purification technology, initially developed for clarifying laundry water, can transform contaminated water into safe drinking water quickly and easily. 

At first, people were hesitant. They feared the purifier of water sachets from P&G would make them sick all the more, just as the chlorine was rumored to have killed people during the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

To help restore hope to the community, Koneh, along with a community health worker named Mohamed Sesay, began sensitizing families. But when Musu and her family began using the sachets and stayed healthy, it gave others the confidence to do the same. Monthly house-to-house visits were organized to spread health messages and distribute water treatment sachets, just enough for one day, so they wouldn’t be misused. Community women’s groups also introduced byelaws to ensure proper waste disposal. People were taught to dispose of stool immediately. 

Since implementing the project, Musu’s community has seen an 80% reduction in diarrhea cases—from 30 in 2019, to as few as 6 per month in 2025.

“Losing Musu became  a turning point in our community,’’ said Chief Amara Kawa, Chiefdom Speaker, Tomboma community. “We learned from Musu’s death,” he said. “Now, if someone starts throwing up or having diarrhea, we don’t wait. We take them to the hospital right away.”

Now, Musu walks through her village with a purpose. She may only be in Junior Secondary School (JSS) 2, but her voice is clear and full of determination. “I will help tell my people about the dangers of drinking dirty water. Don’t just drink water like that. Purify it first.”

By the end of 2023, over 3.6 million purification sachets had been distributed to 22 communities across seven districts, and 8,400 households, including Musu’s, were trained in their use. The project has significantly improved the health and quality of life in Musu’s community, allowing residents to enjoy cleaner, safer water and reducing the prevalence of waterborne diseases.