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Abstract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ntroduction Benin is a West African country of approximately 8.5 million people, nearly a third of whom lack access to potable water.1 Mortality rates, especially for infants and children in Benin, are much higher than mortality rates in the developed world.2 Centralized water treatment, like we have in the States, is not a feasible option for community drinking water in Benin because it is extremely expensive to construct and maintain. In rural Benin, the primary ways that people obtain clean drinking water are by boiling water or purchasing imported bottled water. Boiling water requires wood and native vegetation, depleting local resources and emitting smoke into households and the atmosphere. Buying bottled water is not a cost-effective, long-term solution for low-income populations. Furthermore, the links between contaminated drinking water, sanitation, and disease are not understood by all of Benin’s population. As a result, most people in Benin drink water that does not meet the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). 3,4 The water in much of Benin is contaminated with bacteria and viruses.5 These are the major concerns in Benin drinking water because of their impact on human health. Typhoid fever, amoebic dysentery, schistosomiasis, and cholera are just a few of the diseases spread by contaminated water. Nearly 17 percent of children born in Benin die before the age of five.3 Porto-Novo is a colonial era city with a population of about 250,000 inhabitants.6 The Songhai Center is headquartered in Porto-Novo, the capital of Benin. In a visit to Benin in 2004, Father Nzamujo Godfrey, director of the Songhia Center, stated the need for a low-cost, sustainable Point-of-use drinking water filter. Much of Benin is blessed with access to water through shallow wells or surface waters, however human and animal wastes contaminate the water. While treated water is available in some instance, less than 10 percent of the population has treated water piped into their homes. Bagged and bottled water can be purchased in the marketplace, but this practice is expensive, unsustainable and can sometimes be tampered with, so that the water can unknowingly become contaminated. The preferred treatment technology for the area would be a cost-effective point-of-use technology. For several years, students evaluated point-of-use water filter technologies that would be appropriate for implementation at the Songhai center. The ceramic filter technology was selected for potential implementation. However, the existing mission and capacity of the Songhai Center had to be expanded to properly transfer the technology. The expanded needs in water and its

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Striebig, B., & Norwood, S. (2009, June), West African Technology, Education, And Reciprocity Implementation In Benin Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4537