Liberia with Waves for Water (39 images)

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  • Jon Rose surfs the wave called "Shipwrecks" in Robertsport, Liberia.

  • A young boy gathers water from a well in Robertsport, Liberia. Data from the Liberian governement suggests that under 70% of the country's population has no access to safe drinking water. According to the 2009 census, this translates to an estimated 2.6 million people without access to a clean water supply. The irony of this fact is there is no lack of water in Liberia. Six major rivers, two lakes, and seasonally heavy rainfall give the country one of the highest amounts of renewable water resources per inhabitant in all of Africa. Nearly a decade after emerging from a destructive civil war, Liberia's infrastructure is still severely compromised and slowly recovering. Access to safe water and sanitation facilities remains extremely low in both urban and rural areas of the country. This hits women and children hardest. Water Supply and Sanitation factors heavily into the reduction in child mortality and achievement of primary education. Organizations report that poor water and sanitation infrastructure contributes to high child deaths from malaria and diarrhoea, which kill nearly 64% of Liberian children under age five.

  • Jon Rose carries containers to be used for water filtration systems in Robertsport, Liberia. The W4W systems are very easy to make, needing only a container (bucket, tub, jerrycan, etc) and the water filter that Waves 4 Water distributes.

  • Jon Rose works with Alphanso Appleton on a demonstration about using water filtration systems in Robertsport, Liberia. One of the main strategies of Rose's organization, Waves 4 Water, is distributing filters to community leaders, then asking the communities to decide how the filters are to be used and shared. This grassroots, bottom-up process generates more inclusion and enthusiasm than an outsider giving orders.

  • Jon Rose works with Alphanso Appleton on a demonstration about using water filtration systems in Robertsport, Liberia. Rose holds "before" and "after" examples of local dirty water; on the right, the water after being filtered. One of the main strategies of Rose's organization, Waves 4 Water, is distributing filters to community leaders, then asking the communities to decide how the filters are to be used and shared. This grassroots, bottom-up process generates more inclusion and enthusiasm than an outsider giving orders.

  • Alphanso Appleton holds a water filtration system in Robertsport, Liberia. One of the main strategies of Waves 4 Water is distributing filters to community leaders, then asking the communities to decide how the filters are to be used and shared. This grassroots, bottom-up process generates more inclusion and enthusiasm than an outsider giving orders.

  • A sign encouraging voting instead of violence is seen through a broken windshield in Monrovia, Liberia.

  • Elisha, a young boy gathers water from a well in Robertsport, Liberia. Data from the Liberian governement suggests that under 70% of the country's population has no access to safe drinking water. According to the 2009 census, this translates to an estimated 2.6 million people without access to a clean water supply. The irony of this fact is there is no lack of water in Liberia. Six major rivers, two lakes, and seasonally heavy rainfall give the country one of the highest amounts of renewable water resources per inhabitant in all of Africa. Nearly a decade after emerging from a destructive civil war, Liberia's infrastructure is still severely compromised and slowly recovering. Access to safe water and sanitation facilities remains extremely low in both urban and rural areas of the country. This hits women and children hardest. Water Supply and Sanitation factors heavily into the reduction in child mortality and achievement of primary education. Organizations report that poor water and sanitation infrastructure contributes to high child deaths from malaria and diarrhoea, which kill nearly 64% of Liberian children under age five.

  • A boy in Robertsport, Liberia, washes himself outside his home. While there is no shortage of fresh water in Liberia, clean, uncontaminated water is rare. Filtered water helps prevent disease from washing with water that contains parasites and other pathogens. The World Health Organization has estimated that poor sanitation and bad hygiene practices due to unsafe water cause about 18 per cent of all deaths in Liberia.

  • Sam Brown shows off a bombed out and burnt building in Robertsport, Liberia. Nearly a decade after emerging from a destructive civil war, Liberia's infrastructure is still severely compromised and slowly recovering. Access to safe water and sanitation facilities remains extremely low in both urban and rural areas of the country.

  • Fishermen look over nets to go through the night's catch in Robertsport, Liberia.

  • Jon Rose demonstrates how to use a water filtration system at a refugee safe-house in Robertsport, Liberia. One of the main strategies of Rose's organization, Waves 4 Water, is distributing filters to central hubs, then asking the communities to decide how the filters are to be used and shared. This grassroots, bottom-up process generates more inclusion and enthusiasm than an outsider giving orders.

  • Jon Rose watches Alphanso Appleton give a demonstration about using water filtration systems in Robertsport, Liberia. One of the main strategies of Rose's organization, Waves 4 Water, is distributing filters to community leaders, then asking the communities to decide how the filters are to be used and shared. This grassroots, bottom-up process generates more inclusion and enthusiasm than an outsider giving orders.

  • A woman in Robertsport, Liberia, washes clothes in a pond by the shore. While there is no shortage of fresh water in Liberia, clean, uncontaminated water is rare. Filtered water helps prevent disease from washing with water that contains parasites and other pathogens. The World Health Organization has estimated that poor sanitation and bad hygiene practices due to unsafe water cause about 18 per cent of all deaths in Liberia.

  • Ricky Whitlock surfs the wave called "Shipwrecks" in Robertsport, Liberia.

  • Jon Rose surfs the wave called "Cottontrees" in Robertsport, Liberia, while local children look on.

  • Jon Rose walks to the wave called "Shipwrecks" in Robertsport, Liberia.

  • Fisherman's daughter - Robertsport, Liberia

  • Fishermen return from sea as a rain squall approaches Robertsport, Liberia.

  • Two Time Liberian Champion Alfred Lomax surfs the wave called "Shipwrecks" in Robertsport, Liberia. Lomax grew up in a traditional fishing family, and now seeks to be Liberia's first professional surfer.

  • Ricky Whitlock surfs the wave called "Cottontrees" in Robertsport, Liberia.

  • Overview of the Mamba Point neighborhood in Monrovia, Liberia, as seen from the roof of the Ducor Palace Hotel.

  • Street scene at Waterside Market in Monrovia, Liberia.

  • Political posters are places on buildings, walls, and vehicles near a political rally in Monrovia, Liberia.

  • A man retrieves water from a rain-catching system in Robertsport, Liberia. There is no shortage of water in Liberia, but access to clean, uncontaminated water is very rare.

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