About Us
Chandy Loos Foundation is a platform for community development and sustainability. We are a movement driven by like-minded people who aim to end open defecation by ensuring all people have access to quality sanitation facilities.
We also strive to ensure all people have access to clean water, and promote safe, strong and healthy communities. We empower communities through water, sanitation and health initiatives. Our work with rural communities and young people promotes health and development.
Chandy Loos Foundation commenced its activities in Adejubu and Apedu communities in Igbatoro, located southwest of Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria in early 2018. We have since expanded our activities to secondary schools in Akure. Our focus is on rural communities that lack basic services. There is an ongoing effort to expand our programs and initiatives to all rural communities in Nigeria.
In August 2016, we made our way to Willisau, Switzerland in the hills just north of the Swiss Alps. The program was robust and challenging and we got to meet tremendous people from 10 other countries. One of these inspiring people was Lawrence from Akure, Nigeria. Lawrence founded and runs a very successful organization, Springboard Nigeria, which is a Social Enterprise focusing on agricultural and entrepreneurial endeavors at the local level. Lawrence quickly convinced me that my skills as a water and sanitation expert is sorely needed in his part of rural Nigeria. At Lawrence’s insistence, I accepted an invitation to go the Nigeria to get a feel for the country and its people. I stayed for 5 weeks, but was still trying to formulate how I could get involved at the community level.
Over the next year, I travelled to many countries meeting like minded people who are committed to improving the water and sanitation conditions in all places in the world. This inspired me to choose a project and get moving on it. Through Lawrence’s channels, I hired a local Nigerian woman, Olamide Akinyemi to work for me as I wanted to build some infrastructure in the rural communities near the Springboard farm and office. Olamide, or Mide, has a Health Education background and is a perfect fit with our health and hygiene campaigns. We started our project under the working name of WatSan Nigeria.
After some hard work, we opened our first sanitation facility in a small community, Adejubu, where we now have successfully reduced open defecation by at least 50%. Our goal is to eliminate open defecation completely in all communities. Shortly after we opened the sanitation facility we filed our papers to become a certified NGO in Nigeria under the name Chandy Loos Foundation.
So there it is. Now you know.
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Build quality sanitation facilities, including reliable toilets and hand washing stations.
Provide readily accessible, potable water.
Promote environmental hygiene and sustainability through health and education programs.
Empower young people to play an active role in decision making to create stronger, healthier communities.
