Our Work at the Bebor School
Through Timmy Global Health and the Timmy Global Health House at the Bebor Model School in Bodo City, Nigeria, we have assisted six nursery and primary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria with several different initiatives including classroom buildings, water and sanitation, scholarship, health and nutrition projects. This blog highlights two significant projects.
Clean and Safer Drinking Water
Due to the oil spills in the area, the people of Bodo City and other rural villages throughout Rivers State, Nigeria suffer from a lack of safe drinking water. As noted by the United Nations Environment Program in its Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland report, “An oily sheen is ever-present on the water surface of the creeks around Ogoniland. This same water is used by local communities for fishing, bathing and in some cases for drinking.” Timmy Global health has been able to contribute to the delivery of safer drinking water at three schools (Bebor’s original campus in Bodo City and its extension campuses in Bane and Bori, Rivers State) via boreholes which provide safer drinking water for the approximately 700 children at these schools as well as the water that enables the respective school’s boys, girls and teachers’ toilets to flush.
The Children of Bebor Carrying Their Water
Another school we support through Bebor, St. Patrick’s Nursery and Primary School (also in Bodo City) had its own borehole for safer drinking water in place before we started assisting them. Approximately 600 children at this school benefit from this water. With your continued support, we hope to provide boreholes for safer drinking water and toilets for improved sanitation at the two additional schools we support through Bebor, St. Bernard’s Nursery and Primary School in Biara, Rivers State and Our Lady’s Nursery and Primary School in K-Dere, Rivers State in the near future.
Everyone is in Charge of Gathering Water
Celebrating UN World Water Day - March 22, 2021
Student Scholarships
The Ogoni people have faced many hardships and human rights violations over the past several decades. It is particularly hard for children with disabilities. Timmy Global Health has been able to provide scholarships for children between the ages of 3-15 who also suffer from disabilities. Through the Priscilla Lezor Memorial Scholarship (named after a former Bebor headmistress who was a pioneering advocate for the rights of disabled students), at least $13,000 will be dispersed, with at least $1,000 per semester over the next 5 years.
The first $1,000 of funding for this scholarship was sent in April 2021. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the two founding donors of this initiative, this is the first time in Timmy’s nearly 20-year history of supporting Bebor that we have been able to make such a long-term commitment which enables our schools to anticipate a consistent level of support for this initiative over an extended time period. The scholarships will provide for the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, and writing materials for each child through the school year. Depending on the specific needs of each child, these scholarships can also cover transportation costs or necessary medical equipment like crutches or wheelchairs.
These children will also be enrolled in Bebor’s existing health and nutrition programs and be seen regularly by Dr. Nabie Nubari Francis, Bebor’s medical director. These scholarships can be life-saving for these children who, in the local context, are often denied the opportunity for schooling based on the widespread belief that they do not suffer from medical conditions or problems but are instead “child witches.” We have seen previously how integrating students with disabilities into Bebor’s “regular” or “normal” student body can break down such debilitating stigmas and lead to children with disabilities being accepted and welcomed just like any other child. We look forward to supporting the educational advancement of children with disabilities at Bebor for many years to come.
