Tintafor Community 12

May, 2024: Tintafor Community Well Rehabilitation Complete!

We are excited to share that a safe, reliable water point at Tintafor Community in Sierra Leone is now providing clean water to community members! We also conducted hygiene and sanitation training, which focused on healthy practices such as handwashing and using latrines.

"Before, walking a long distance to access water with a bucket of water on [my] head was not easy for me. Especially, when I [was] off from school. With this water well I will [not] be walking long distances anymore. The pressure on fetching water at home is now over. I can fetch water easily. This waterpoint will help me to access safe drinking water. [I can] fetch enough water at home to prepare food and launder my uniform. I will go to school on time. Therefore, all these will be done easily and on time," shared 18-year-old Dominic.

Dominic.

39-year-old Marian Conteh, a trader, was just as excited! She said, "I have access to reliable and safe water, and drinking from this water helps to [things] grow well. Before, I faced constraints to access water [and] safe drinking water. I will not walk long distances to access water."

Marian.

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members. Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Ministry of Water Resource Port Loko, and the Port Loko District Council. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project and reminding everyone to take good care of it. Then, Dominic and Marian made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Celebrating their rehabilitated well!

Clean Water Restored

The drill team arrived the day before beginning work. They set up camp and unpacked all their tools and supplies to prepare for drilling the next day. The community provided space for the team to store their belongings and meals for the duration of their stay. The following day, the work began.

First, we raised the tripod, the structure we use to hold and maneuver each drilling tool. Next, we measured the well's original depth. We then socketed the pipes and installed a casing.

Finally, we lined up the drill rods and started to drill! We reached a final depth of 20 meters with water at 13.6 meters. The hand-drill method allowed the team to install the cylinder far below the aquifer so that the community has excellent water access throughout the year.

With drilling complete, we installed screening and a filter pack to keep out debris when the water is pumped. We then cemented an iron rod to the well lining and fixed it with an iron collar at the top.

Next, we bailed the well by hand for three days and flushed it, clearing any debris generated by the drilling process. Finally, we tested the yield to ensure the well would provide clean water with minimal effort at the pump.

Bailing.

As the project neared completion, we built a new cement platform, walls, and drainage system around the well to seal it off from surface-level contaminants. The drainage system helps to redirect runoff and spilled water to help avoid standing water at the well, which can be uncomfortable and unhygienic and a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Pump installation.

At last, we installed the pump and conducted a water quality test. The test results showed that this was clean water fit for drinking!

New Knowledge

Before conducting any hygiene training, we called and visited the local water user committee to understand the community’s challenges and lack of sanitation facilities. We shared the findings from our discussions with the committee members to help them make the necessary adjustments before the training began. For example, we identified households without handwashing stations or ones that may need to repair their latrines. With this information, community members worked together to improve hygiene and sanitation at home.

We also invited a nurse from the local clinic to help explain some topics and spread awareness about Sierra Leone's free vaccinations for children under five. Nurse Kadiatu was instrumental in reinforcing each lesson.

After this preparatory period, we scheduled a time when members from each household using the water point could attend a three-day hygiene and sanitation training. We then dispatched our teams to the agreed-upon location to hold the meeting.

Handwashing session.

Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps, good and bad hygiene habits, teen pregnancy, worms and parasites, proper dental hygiene, menstrual hygiene, proper care of the well's pump, keeping the water clean, the cost recovery system, the importance of using dish racks and clotheslines, the importance of toilets, keeping latrines clean, balanced diets, the diarrhea doll, and disease transmission and prevention, COVID-19, Ebola, Hepatitis, HIV and AIDS.

Field Officer Alie Kamara shared a crucial lesson for the community members. "The first memorable topic covered during the hygiene training was worms and parasites. During this session, the participants paid maximum attention. When nurse Kadiatu was presenting the participants were curious [about] the causes of worms.  She stated that worms are harmful and can cause diseases like pneumonia, anemia, filaria, etc. You can be infected by eating raw [or] uncooked meat, walking barefoot, not washing hands regularly, [or] consumption of contaminated food. During this session, Isha Blackie Conteh shared her experience of how [a] person can get infected with worms easily. She was told by her grandmother that people can get infected with worms by eating fish and eating plenty of palm kernels. She never knew the cause of worms in humans until the hygiene training. The nurse continued the training by explaining the treatment, if you get infected with worms, you can go [to a] nearby health facility."

Marian.

When asked how the training would impact her life, Marian shared, "The training was valuable to me because I learned a lot. It is a great opportunity for me to add knowledge. It will help me to improve my poor sanitation behavior. I gained a lot of experience during the handwashing session. I was able to understand that most of the illnesses we get today come from our hands. [We should practice] frequent handwashing after using the latrine, or before eating. I do not usually practice this habit, but today I learned about the negative consequences of it. I will put it [into] practice. I will use this experience to teach my community members."

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members. When an issue arises concerning the well, community members are equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure the water point works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact their local field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.

With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone, we’re working toward complete coverage. That means reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!

Thank you for making all of this possible!

April, 2024: Tintafor Community Well Rehabilitation Underway!

The lack of adequate water in the Tintafor Community costs people time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, things will soon improve here. We are now working to install a reliable water point and improve hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing inspiring news in the near future!