Health Center for Old Fangak - Update

Project coodinator Bret Burroughs will be in Kenya and Southern Sudan in late November to coordinate the shipping of building materials and supplies to Old Fangak. The building has been pre-fabricated in Nairobi. Once all the materials are purchased and loaded into containers, they will be trucked from Nairobi to Juba in Southern Sudan. From there they will travel on the river system to the village. Shipping will take around three weeks.

The health center as pictured above will replace the building currently being used. Built by the British during colonial times, the current building used as a health center is falling apart and in 2009 will be re-claimed by the South Sudanese government.

In addition to the new health center, the team will dig four new water wells. One well for the clinic and three for the village. We will also help build a latrine system. Local residents will be taught how to use the drilling equipment so that they can continue to dig new water wells.

Old Fangak is not on the road system, so all construction supplies and equipment will have to be trucked, flown and then barged to the village. Once materials arrive, the team of Alaskans will work with locals to construct the clinic, water wells and latrines.

The first team members will arrive in Old Fangak in late November to dig the wells and prepare the site. Two additional groups of Alaskans will leave Anchorage in January. The first team departs January 10th and the second team will leave January 19th.

Constrution will be completed by the end of February.