Rehabilitation Project
This project was implemented by another partner, but is now monitored and maintained by The Water Project together with Mariatu's Hope.
A Sierra Leone team member commented, "The way the community protected the well after we did the cement work. It shows how important it is to them. They are very cooperative. They are willing to work with us and the Child Health Club to form a water and sanitation committee and also work towards the community becoming ODF (open defecation free)." When the team arrived, community members were dependent on a river located one kilometer away from the community to meet all of their water needs. Because of this, families were suffering from dysentery, typhoid and malaria. Most community members sustain their families by farming, processing and making salt and
petty trading. The nearest school is located two kilometers away from the community whose students, teachers and administrative personnel all have access to the new, safe water source. The community also established a water committee who is responsible for collecting a maintenance fee of $0.02 per five gallons of water. This money is to be saved and used for well maintenance.
The Sierra Leon team had an opportunity to meet with thirty-two year old community member and trader, Naseratu Kamara, who stated, "With the distance, it is a long walk and far away. The water is dirty during the rains. It is contaminated and is not pure. It is unprotected. During the dry, all the streams are dry, except we have to go to the next village for water. So with the new well all of our problems will be stopped. We are so happy about this!"
The gathering of the community is so impressive and attractive. The people gave their cooperation. The hygiene girls did their work based on the cooperation of the community. The hygiene training was so impressive looking at the distribution of the cups and spoons for the ORS training. The people implemented the ORS lesson very well. The people understood the hygiene training and understood the importance of proper implementation in a correct manner. They praised the almighty and gave thanks to Living Water and The Water Project. They were so thankful for this training. There were 73 adults, 85 children and 73 ORS spoons were distributed. The students from Mamankie DEC School helped with the training and discussed the importance of using a toilet.
Bibles will be distributed at the dedication of the sanitation project at the DEC Mamankie Primary School. The story of the Good Samaritan was shared with this community. They really appreciated it. When the Gospel was presented, all of them received Christ. We need to work with a local pastor from a nearby community to come here to disciple these new converts.
