Success with Bumpe's Pen Pal Program

This year Bumpe students were able to find distant friends with students at Vistamar School in California. The pen pal program allowed students to connect with one another on a personal level as they shared their interests, hobbies, and daily lives. The students received the letters via email, and for Bumpe students, whose lives have been ravaged by civil war, the letters were a real snapshot of life here in America.

We are grateful for the success of the program and hope to continue the correspondence between students here in America and Sierra Leone. We would like to especially thank the students, faculty, and staff of Vistamar for their involvement and participation.

Rotary Helps with Clean Water

Back in 2009, Jim Culberson, a North Rotarian in WV, and Kim Zook, a Bremerton Rotarian in WA, partnered with the Rotary Club in Bo, Sierra Leone to establish a water project that would bring clean and accessible water to the residents of Bumpe. Together the partners secured a $50,000 grant from the Rotary Foundation to fund the construction of new water wells. Today, the project has completed 8 wells in various communities including:

·       Bumpe

·       Mongayba

·       Mojibba

·       Gibbu

·       Solima

·       Bo

Thanks to the generosity and partnership of the Rotarians, the residents of Sierra Leone can be confident that they are receiving safe water within their own community. Parents can live without the worry of water borne diseases killing their children and children can enjoy their health and childhood. The Kposowa Foundation would like to extend a special thank you to all that were involved in this project!

A Message from Sarah Culberson

Miracle -
The Kposowa Foundation and Rotary Club partnered, and as a result my dad Jim, Kim Zook, and many other Rotarians raised $50,000 for wells in Bumpe Chiefdom.  My father Joe in Sierra Leone said "Oh Sarah, the women in a neighboring village are dancing and singing because they don't have to drink dirty water any more.  They don't have to walk miles for clean water anymore.  Their children don't have to die because of water born disease."  This all happened because my dad in West Virginia and my birth father in West Africa did this by working together, and because of Rotary Foundation Matching Grants!

Brownie Troop Donates!

We are so proud of the Brownie troop who donated $200.00 from their cookie sales to help to rebuild a school in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Stay tuned for the story next week!