⭠ back to where we work

Liberia

BACKGROUND

No one knows the value of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene more than the people of Liberia. Civil wars in the western African nation from 1989 to 1997 and 1989 to 2003 resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 people. The wars also destroyed thousands of wells that were essential for survival.

In 1995, the European Union and Liberian government invited Jim Gehrels (Lifewater Canada's co-founder and hydrogeologist) to conduct the first systematic testing of 150 communal wells in the capital city of Monrovia. Jim's report indicated that half of those wells were contaminated. Meanwhile, millions of people outside the capital had no safe water at all.

But today, thanks to donors like you, our two local Liberian teams are drilling new wells, rehabilitating old wells, repairing hand pumps, building communal toilets and hand-washing stations, and providing Health and Hygiene training. Hundreds of thousands of Liberians are benefiting from this work each day, and many lives have been saved.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) still ranks Liberia as one of 34 countries least capable of achieving the United Nations' International Development Goals. With your support, we can continue to help Liberia by focusing on water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in schools, clinics, orphanages, and rural villages.

Lifewater Canada currently maintains two vital partnerships in Liberia:

Lifewater Liberia (L-Linc)
Lifewater Service to Servants (STS)

These two teams work together to best serve the people of Liberia and optimize the workflows and skillsets of both organizations. Our Liberia Country Coordinator, Stephen Varfee, coordinates both Liberian teams, distributing drilling and well rehabilitation projects to L-Linc. and H&H workshops and pump repair projects to STS-Lifewater, maximizing the efficiencies of both partners.

Rev. Stephen Varfee,
Country Coordinator

Stephen coordinates all the work done by both Lifewater Liberia teams. He assumed this role in April 2023 after serving as L-Linc's Project Coordinator since 2017. Stephen is also the Senior Pastor of a local Church, a member of the Africa Leadership Peace Ambassadors organization, and a strong advocate for children's education and young women in leadership.

Lifewater Liberia (L-Linc)

The Lifewater Liberia team focuses entirely on drilling new water wells in a nation where they are desperately needed.

Henry S. Tengbeh,
Program Coordinator

Henry began assisting Stephen Varfee in late 2021 and became L-Linc's Program Coordinator in April 2023. He came to Lifewater Liberia after serving in managerial roles with several organizations including, most recently, a major Liberian transportation company where he was Administrative and Human Resources Manager.

Rocky G. Kollie, Senior Driller and Supervisor (former National team soccer player)

Boakia Thomas, Senior Driller and Supervisor

Kelvin Fayiah Bomboo, Driller and Driver

Victor Dolo,
Lead Mechanic

Rev. Haven Johnson, Evangelist with H&H Team and Community Mobilizer

Sangbeh Dennis, Head of Security and Compound Maintenance

Francis Kafie, Security and Compound Maintenance

Peter S. Johnson, Security Guard

Wellington Diggs, Security Guard

Lifewater Service to Servants (STS)

Lifewater Service to Servants (STS) team photo

The Lifewater Service to Servants (STS) team assesses community needs to determine whether a new water well is required or if instead, a pump can be repaired to make an existing well function again. New wells are drilled by the Lifewater Liberia team, while pump repairs are completed by the Lifewater STS team, which also provides community Health and Hygiene education.

Joe LeLee Sloan,
Director and Project Coordinator

Joe joined Lifewater in April 2023 and leads the STS team. He has a degree in Electronics Engineering with a concentration in Information and Communication Technology. He has worked as an Analyst, Manager, Network Switch Engineer/NOC, and a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for several institutions. He is also a member of the Salvation Army church.

Yaya Sidi Sackor, M, Evaluation Officer

Before joining STS, Yaya was involved in assessing Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Livelihood, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene services. He has a degree in Business Administration and has more than 14 years professional experience helping many consultants in designing assessment and evaluation tools.