 Lauren
Fry has a BA in Physics with a Geology
minor from Gustavos Adolphus College. She is currently working on
her M.S. in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech. Lauren is
assigned as a water/sanitation engineer in Monatele, Cameroon and
began her Peace Corps service in February, 2002.
Lauren works with the Ministry of Agriculture at
the departmental level (equivalent of our county level). She works
very closely with my Cameroonian counterpart at the ministry, who
is a rural engineering technician. Together, Lauren works with several
groups in villages in the department and assists these groups with
needs assessment, project design and management, and technical assistance.
Projects include design and construction of spring boxes, wells,
and latrines, however she has also helped groups write grant proposals
for other projects such as community farms and health centers. Many
people have no idea where to look for funding or how to complete
a funding application, so Lauren spends a lot of time coaching them
through this process.
Research
- Spring
Improvement as a Tool for Prevention of Water-Related Illness
in Four Villages of the Center Province of Cameroon,
Lauren Fry, August, 2004. Worldwide, diarrhea kills about 2.2
million people annually, most of whom are under the age of five.
In Cameroon, as in much of the developing world, a major cause
of diarrhea is the lack of improved water sources. Although water
is plentiful in the southern regions of Cameroon, water quality
is poor in rural areas, where water is rarely protected. This
paper covers four spring improvement projects serving a total
of 1,306 residents in four villages, conducted during two years
of Peace Corps service in the Center Province of Cameroon. Projects
involved needs analysis, education in project design and management,
hygiene education, construction of springboxes, and continuing
evaluation. By conducting a complete yearlong health survey in
two villages, the link between water projects and public health
in the community was also studied. The study showed that springboxes
are a cost-effective way to bring a simple, durable technology
for providing improved water quality to small villages. The springbox
construction projects were determined to have a positive impact
on the health of the communities one year after construction,
determined by the average number of days a person suffers from
diarrhea. One year after construction, two communities saw a significant
(within 90% and 99.5% confidence levels) decrease in the number
of days a person spent with diarrhea per month. The number of
days a person spent with diarrhea per month decreased by 31% in
one village and by 62% in another.
Review Abstract (PDF File)
Complete Report (1.86 Mb PDF File)
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