Family Connections has a growing ministry in Liberia under the leadership of Raymond Fallah Bombo. This ministry has many facets:
- Prison ministry in Liberia’s 16 prisons
- Carpentry shop to teach workers advanced carpentry skills
- Computer lab for local children
- Water filter distribution to provide access to clean water
Family Connections’ water filter distribution project has a big dream – to provide access to clean water for thousands of people. We work with the non-profit organization Wine to Water, which is based in North Carolina (www.wtw.org); their DROP water filters are a low-tech device to transform dirty water to drinkable clean water. Family Connections operates on a business model using in-country staff to educate on safe water practices and distribute the water filters.
The water filters use a polymer hollow fiber membrane, which filters out any particles greater than 0.1 micron in diameter. This filters out, sediments, microplastics, bacteria, E. coli, parasites, and protozoa. These are the primary causes of several common preventable diseases such as dysentery and cholera.
The water filter project started with 500 filters carried by our American team to Liberia in our checked luggage. We used the filter for our drinking water the entire trip, without getting ill. We met with senators, government ministers, pastors, prison wardens, plastics manufacturer, and people on the street; all of them were very impressed by the results of the filter. Through assistance from a few senators, Family Connections was able to connect with a local plastic manufacturer to get buckets and pitchers to create a full marketable assembly. The entire assembly consists of a filter kit, bucket, and pitcher.
By May 2026, Raymond and his team had distributed nearly 400 filters to prisons, churches, clinics, and local communities and families.
Here are 23 comments from residents across Montserrado, Bomi, and Gbarpolu counties in Liberia, reflecting their experiences with the Wine to Water filters distributed by Family Connections Liberia using a cost-recovery approach (affordable payments, not free handouts).
Montserrado County (Urban & Peri-urban settlements) Community: West Point
1. “Before this filter, my children were sick every two weeks with typhoid. Now, three months clean. Paying the small fee made us value and maintain it like our own child.” – Martha K., mother of four
2. “Cost recovery is not punishment. It’s dignity. We paid little by little, and now we have safe water without begging. The filter is worth every penny.” – James T., community vendor
Community: Clara Town
3. “The water from our well was brown. Now it’s crystal clear. Family Connections Liberia didn’t just give and leave; they trained us to replace parts when needed. That’s real help.” – Esther B., shop owner
4. “I used to buy sachet water daily. That money added up. With the filter, I saved in two months what I paid for it. Best decision our block made.” – Paul W., mechanic Community: New Kru Town
5. “My grandmother is 72. She couldn’t carry heavy jerrycans. Now she drinks from the tap next to her bed – filtered. The small weekly payment felt fair. Nothing free is respected.” – Satta G., caregiver
6. “We tested our water before and after. The filter removed the bad taste and the smell. Neighbors now ask where to buy their own.” – Michael D., youth leader
Community: Logan Town
7. “Our community clinic saw fewer diarrhea cases last quarter. The nurses asked why. We showed them the Wine to Water filter. Cost recovery means the program continues – it’s not a one-time show.” – Ruth F., clinic volunteer Bomi County (Rural towns & farming areas)
Community: Tubmanburg (central)
8. “The swamp water used to make our stomachs swell. Now my whole farm family drinks without fear. Paying over time was hard at first, but seeing my children healthy – that is wealth.” – Alfred S., rice farmer
9. “Family Connections Liberia came back three times to check the filter. They didn’t run away after collecting the first payment. That builds trust.” – Mary J., palm oil seller
Community: Suehn Mecca
10. “Our well is near the latrine – we knew it was bad. But we had no other option. Now we filter everything. The cost recovery taught us to save small amounts weekly. We even bought a second filter for the school.” – Thomas K., school principal
11. “I was skeptical about paying for a filter when NGOs used to give free buckets. But those free buckets broke in months. This one is solid. The payment made us serious.” – Vickie L., cassava processor
Community: Klay Junction
12. “The filter removed the red color from our borehole water. My wife says our rice tastes better now. The small loan we took to buy it? Already repaid from savings on medicine.” – Emmanuel N., driver
13. “We formed a water committee of five households. Each pays 100 Liberian dollars per week. After six weeks, the filter was ours. No one fights over who broke it because we all own it.” – Josephine R., committee chair
Community: Be Bo (rural Bomi)
14. “The missionary group wanted to give us free filters last year. They never came back. Family Connections Liberia asked for something – even small – and delivered. That’s how you know they are serious.” – Zolu D., town chief
15. “My baby had chronic diarrhea. Three weeks after using the filter, her cheeks turned pink again. I will pay cost recovery a hundred times for that.” – Fatu T., young mother Gbarpolu County (Remote, forest communities)
Community: Bopolu City
16. “Our creek water gives us worms. The hospital is two hours away. This filter is our hospital now. Paying for it felt heavy, but Family Connections Liberia let us pay in labor – clearing brush for their vehicle – plus cash. That was wise.” – Morris G., hunter
17. “I’ve seen many NGOs come with cameras and free buckets. They leave, and the buckets rot. Wine to Water filters with cost recovery? People here now save money in a box for the next filter. That is transformation.” – Kumba S., women’s group leader
Community: Kongba
18. “No borehole. No pipe. Just this filter. The water tastes like rain from the sky. Our elders say the ancestors are proud we learned to help ourselves instead of waiting for white people to save us.” – Soko M., youth chair
19. “The cost recovery made us form a cooperative. We paid 50 Liberian dollars each week from our bush meat sales. Now we own the filter, and we’re saving for a second one.”– Bendu K., market woman
Community: Gounwolaila
20. “Our hand pump broke two years ago. No one fixed it. This filter is the only clean water for three villages. We paid in installments of palm oil and cash. That’s how poor people can afford quality.”– Varney T., farmer
Community: Belle Yella
21. “The filter doesn’t need electricity or chlorine. Just a bucket and gravity. My children can operate it. Paying for it made them protect it – they don’t let anyone touch the ceramic part.”– Hawa J., mother of seven
22. “Family Connections Liberia treated us like customers, not beggars. That changed how we see ourselves. We are not victims. We are buyers of clean water.”– Phillip M., retired teacher
Community: Swankamore (remote Gbarpolu)
23. “The nearest clean well is a four-hour walk. Now we have clean water in ten minutes. Cost recovery is not a barrier – it’s a bridge. We paid, we own, we survive.”– Lucy W., midwife