While water has always been a problem in Onura, the drought (affecting more than 20 million people across east Africa) has created a crisis. Villagers, mostly women and girls, must walk many kilometers every single day to collect every drop. This prevents many girls from going to school and many women from having enough time to earn a decent living. Most of the water they collect—from stagnant ponds, marshes, or ditches—is contaminated with parasites and bacteria… Read More
Environment
Hope Ofiriha's environmental projects combat deforestation, improve environmental health, and promote environmental awareness and conservation.
Stop Cookstoves from Polluting and Killing
Virtually everyone in the remote village of Onura uses wood to cook over traditional cookstoves. This means villagers, largely women and girls, have to spend hours foraging for fuel and hours inhaling the toxic smoke from the fires (often with infant babies strapped to their backs). The toxins in smoke cause serious respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, emphysema, lung cancer, and bronchitis. At the same time, cutting down trees for fuel woods is contributing… Read More
Give Fresh Fruit and a Greener Environment
Forests are being cleared in Sudan at an alarming rate, creating one of the worst deforestation crises in the world. Deforestation is eroding soil, reducing agricultural productivity and biodiversity, making local climates drier, contributing to climate change worldwide, and fueling conflict over dwindling usable land. In Magwi County, trees are being cut down for building materials; to make room for farmland; or for fuel wood for cooking, drying tobacco, and firing blocks for reconstruction… Read More
