CRS Dedicates New WASH Facilities in Grand Cape Mount County | News

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Liberia has dedicated a set of new water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities in Massatine, Grand Cape Mount County, a community of roughly 600 people that had long struggled with inadequate sanitation.

The project delivered four new latrines—two for the local school, one for the church and one for the community clinic—along with a rehabilitated water source. For years, residents, students, patients and worshippers had no choice but to use surrounding bushland as latrines, a practice that clinic nurse Lamin Massaquoi said contributed to recurring health problems, including diarrhea cases in the community.

“The construction of these latrine facilities is not only a need, but also an opportunity to promote the health of the community,” Massaquoi said.

The initiative traces back to a conversation between CRS Liberia Country Representative Glynnis Cummings-John and Rev. Father Jenkins Gareth, who brought the community’s needs to CRS’s attention during a visit to its office.

“If he had not passed by that day, I never would have known about this community,” Cummings-John recalled at the dedication ceremony.

For Father Gareth, the project added a new chapter to Massatine’s decades-long relationship with the Catholic Church, which has supported the community through health services and other assistance, including during the hardships of Liberia’s civil conflict.

“Today is now the happiest day in my life,” he said.

In a remark, Archbishop Gabriel Blamo Snosio Jubwe emphasized the importance of proper facility maintenance and hygiene, urging the community to transition from open defecation to using the new latrines correctly.

He also acknowledged Bishop Fr. Francis and Fr. Porter for their attendance and support, as well as CRS staff, including Father Gareth, the Program Director, and government ministry representatives for their roles in construction and oversight.

Community elder Zinnah Kimbar described the facilities as more than infrastructure, calling them a source of renewed dignity for a community whose history has often been marked by hardship and stigma.

“What we are in today, we were not in before,” she said, adding that the improvements have drawn new residents to settle in Massatine.

She also appealed for continued investment: “We want more and more in this community, more assistance.”

The new facilities are expected to benefit roughly 700 people who rely on the Massatine Clinic, along with students, teachers and churchgoers, by reducing unsafe sanitation practices and improving hygiene outcomes.

As CRS formally handed over the keys to community representatives, officials emphasized that the project’s long-term success now rests with the community through proper maintenance and a shared sense of ownership over the new facilities.