Saran Kaba Jones, who founded FACE Africa to improve water access and sanitation for communities across sub-Saharan Africa, is coming to Santa Barbara on October 6 to discuss such issues in her home country of Liberia. She’ll be speaking to the Global Neighborhood Fund, a Santa Barbara‒based organization that’s donated about $35,000 to FACE Africa since 2011.
Jones founded her organization in 2008 after a visit to Liberia revealed a country destroyed by civil war, shaky infrastructure, and displaced communities. She initially focused on education — FACE stands for Fund a Child’s Education — but quickly realized access to clean water and the time it took to find it was more problematic. Today, FACE Africa aims to provide 100 percent water coverage for each community it targets, with the current focus on providing 250 water-access points for the 60,000 residents of Liberia’s Rivercess County.
In the United States, Jones — who’s also presented at Harvard and the Department of State — is hoping to raise awareness on this and other global issues within the younger generation. She recently started a college ambassador club that is finding students to act as educators and promoters to raise awareness for the issues plaguing Liberia.