May, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Kipolo Community
Our teams are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us in our fight against the virus while maintaining access to clean, reliable water.
We are carrying out awareness and prevention trainings on the virus in every community we serve. Very often, our teams are the first (and only) to bring news and information of the virus to rural communities like Kipolo, Sierra Leone
We trained people on the symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention of COVID-19.
With distancing and/or small groups: Due to public gathering concerns, we worked with trusted community leaders to gather a select group of community members who would then relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.
We began training communities before the first reported case of COVID-19 in the country and before the government enacted public health guidance related to it. We worked with trusted community leaders and Water User Committees to gather community members for the training. Although community members did not observe social distancing during the training, we sensitized them on its importance and effectiveness in combating the spread of the virus.
We covered essential hygiene lessons:
- Demonstrations on how to build a simple handwashing station
- Proper handwashing technique
- The importance of using soap and clean water for handwashing
- Cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces including at the water point.
We covered COVID-19-specific guidance in line with national and international standards:
- Information on the symptoms and transmission routes of COVID-19
- What social distancing is and how to practice it
- How to cough into an elbow
- Alternative ways to greet people without handshakes, fist bumps, etc.
- How to make and properly wear a facemask.
During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s water point.
Due to the rampant spread of misinformation about COVID-19, we also dedicated time to a question and answer session to help debunk rumors about the disease and provide extra information where needed.
We continue to stay in touch with this community as the pandemic progresses. We want to ensure their water point remains functional and their community stays informed about the virus.
Water access, sanitation, and hygiene are at the crux of disease prevention. You can directly support our work on the frontlines of COVID-19 prevention in all of the communities we serve while maintaining their access to safe, clean, and reliable water.
May, 2018: Kipolo Community Project Complete
We are excited to share that there is a new borehole in Kipolo Community, which is already providing clean water to families! People here no longer have to rely on dirty water from the swamp. Hygiene and sanitation training was also conducted, which focused on healthy practices such as washing hands and using latrines.
New Knowledge
The weather is always bright and sunny in this part of the world. The weather can be harshly bright, like on this particular day, so the community asked to meet in the shade of a big mango tree for our hygiene and sanitation training.
Kipolo is a rural village, and we always notice a drastic difference from the other urban areas we work in - the people living out here will drop everything for guests! The whole village will assemble with just a call. That made for a wonderful turnout at training.
The first day was primarily about handwashing. We used empty jerrycans, string, and other materials to build these, and encouraged participants to return home and build another. Once we finished, we set up one of the handwashing stations to demonstrate how to properly wash your hands. Proper handwashing at all the proper times is the easiest way to prevent sickness.
The second day we discussed daily habits and how they affect health in ways the community never imagined.
There are some topics best presented using pictures. The team holds up different scenes that participants would see on a daily basis. The people were especially interested in this particular topic for one reason: for each scene displayed, there was at least one household guilty of the hygiene mistake portrayed. You could see participants glancing over at the leaders of guilty households. This ended up being quite funny in the end, because everyone was guilty of doing at least something wrong.
It’s important to always use a latrine, pen in animals to keep them out of the kitchen, always cover food and so many other things. The trainer showed how if you don’t go about your daily business the right way, there can be deadly consequences. We also trained on ORS (oral rehydration solution) because we know that even with the greatest effort to prevent diarrhea, it will still be an occasional issue. This ORS will help keep community members, especially children, healthy as they recover from diarrhea.
The final day was all about caring for the water point so that it serves generations to come. After, we took time to review the important takeaways from the three days of training.
"This training has taught us how to make ORS, and also trained us on some hygiene lessons that will help us live long," Mr. Momodou Kamara said.
New Well
We worked with the community to select a spot central to everyone. Two pits were dug next to the drill rig, one for the drill’s water supply and another for what was pulled back up out of the borehole. Community members helped the drill team by ensuring there was always water in supply.
Joyful helpers for our drill team, suppling them with the water the mud rotary drill needs.
Initially, the team did not experience anything that altered their normal construction process. But at 60 feet, the team hit a rock. The usual reamer bit was replaced with the runner bit, which is specialized for drilling rocks. They tried drilling through this rock for almost an hour without success. They made the call to test the well to see if it had enough water at this depth:
Analyzing the samples to locate the aquifers.
The team had extracted earth samples every five feet of drilling to determine the aquifer locations. Casing pipes were laid out and screens were positioned according to the sample analysis. The 8" reamer bit was connected and the drilling commenced once again. The casing was tightly glued, lowered, and then surrounded by filter pack. A submersible pump is lowered so we can measure the water yield and any change in level as the well is continuously pumped. This well has a yield of 41 liters per minute - which is way more than an India MkII can pump at its best!
And did we mention at least two days are spent to bail the well, cleaning it out after construction?
With these great results, the artisans could come install the well pad. Once the cement dried, the mechanics could bolt the new India MkII stainless steel pump. The yield test and level measurements informed the mechanics of where they should place the pump cylinder.
Crowds of people gathered around the well to witness the first pumps of clean water. Some of the children were allowed to splash in the water. After them, the women approached to try their first sips of clean water. Expressions of gratefulness were accompanied by singing, dancing, and the beating of drums.
"This well has helped this community a lot. We used to have plenty of water-related problems in this village. We would go days without bathing, and we couldn't cook the family meal on time. The presence of this well will reduce the changes of these kinds of problems occurring!" Mr. Kewunie Kamara said.
Rehabilitation Project
