November, 2019: Giving Update: Mabendo Community, Mosque

A year ago, your generous donation helped Mabendo Community, Mosque in Sierra Leone access clean water.

There’s an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Mabendo. Month after month, their giving supports ongoing sustainability programs that help this community maintain access to safe, reliable water. Read more…

October, 2018: Mabendo Community, Mosque Project Complete

We are excited to share that there is a safe, reliable water point at the mosque in Mabendo Community that’s already providing clean water to people! The neighboring community members no longer have to rely on dirty water from the swamp. Hygiene and sanitation training was also conducted in Mabendo, which focused on healthy practices such as washing hands and using latrines.

New Knowledge

Because we had three wells here to rehabilitate, we decided to plan a large hygiene and sanitation program here. This meant that we needed the total involvement of all staff, and we even needed volunteers for this huge program. There were comedian volunteers and child health club members. Two men also set up a football match in the community to happen two days before training. This set a tone of excitement about the upcoming training.

On training day, everyone arrived in the community under a very heavy rain. While praying for fair weather, team members erected a military camping tent at the front of the venue. The sky cleared!

From there, we only needed to put music on the sound system to attract the entire Mabendo Village. There were more than 400 people there.

There was a puppet show in which students made their puppets members of a household that suffers from a cholera outbreak. This dramatization taught community members how to make a rehydration solution to save those suffering from cholera symptoms. The puppets then moved on to teach about how cholera becomes an issue in the first place.

People learned how to wash hands and make a handwashing station of their own, the importance of toilets, dental care, and a balanced diet. There was also a session on proper care of the water well pump and how to raise the funds to cover maintenance costs.

Dental hygiene is always an important topic here, too. The trainer started with facts like the number of times one should brush their teeth in a day, how long you can use the same toothbrush, the type of pastes to use etc. She advised people to brush their teeth twice a day and not use a toothbrush for more than three months. She also told them not to keep their toothbrushes out in the open and suggested particular brands.

In Sierra Leone, there are a lot of counterfeit tubes of toothpaste and drugs and some of the counterfeit brands actually burn your gums, though some people still sell them.

So for proper illustration, the trainer used what we call "The Teeth."

This is a huge plastic mouth with big teeth. She also took out a giant toothbrush which she used to patiently illustrate the technique of proper toothbrushing. She also called on a participant to demonstrate the same skills before the audience. The people were so amused by the big teeth that they would burst out into laughter during the demonstration.

It all ended with a lot of applause!

Imam Pa Saidu Bangura was one of the leading figures in attendance.

"This training has started changing our lives already. You saw people washing their hands when the training was ongoing. The chief has also ensured that all homes have a toilet and a dish rack. So with these in place, some diseases will effectively be eradicated from this village," he shared.

"But we should be thankful to you guys for the wonderful education you have given us on our personal hygiene and community hygiene. We are now well-prepared to fight against common diseases like cholera, malaria, and diarrhea."

Clean Water Restored

The first things the drill team did when they arrived at the Mabendo Mosque were to contact the Imam and find a place to camp.

Here is how we restored clean, reliable water here:

1. Raised the tripod

2. Found the original depth (for this well, we measured 48 feet)

3. Socketed the pipes

4. Installed casing

5. Lined up the drill rods

6. Drilled!

Drilling by hand is always hard work. The team immediately met a strong, dense clay. They hit a stone just after five feet and retired for the evening. The next morning, a team member delivered the stone drill bit so they could try getting deeper than 53 feet. After 45 minutes with the stone bit, the team was through and could make it down to 60 feet.

The team was able to drill without uninstalling the pump first since there was a hatch in the well pad.

7. Installed screening and filter pack

8. Cemented an iron rod to well lining, and fixed it with an iron collar at the top

9. Bailed the well by hand for three days and flushed it

Bailing the well

10. Tested the yield (we got a static water level of 38 feet going at 40.95 liters per minute)

11. Built a cement platform, walls, and drainage system

12. Installed a stainless steel India Mk11 pump

The hand-drill method allows the team to install the cylinder far below the aquifer so that the community has great water access throughout the year.

13. Water quality test

When the team arrived at the mosque to celebrate clean water with the community, there were prayers going on in the mosque. There was a reasonable amount of people already at the well during this time, but the mosque needed quietness for their prayers and so we waited patiently. When people were dismissed, we turned on the boombox and the crowd formed.

They all came by the well area and joyful singing and dancing began. While the boombox was playing, some people decided to break off and sing their own traditional songs of praise. This went on for some time and the people loved it. We transitioned to closing speeches because of approaching rain clouds.

The Imam gave thanks on behalf of his people, and an old woman who had lived in the community for several years talked about the hope this water brings.

"We are very happy for this well to be here," Mrs. Betty Bangura said.

"We the women and our kids suffered a lot, especially during the dry season. Bad water from the swamp usually got us and our kids sick. Aside from that, we usually produced late meals for the family because of the water shortage," she continued.

"But this well has relieved us from all these disadvantages here, and we are very grateful for that. Thank you."

June, 2018: Mabendo Community Project Underway

A dirty water source at the mosque is making people in Mabendo Community sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know the people living here through the narrative and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!