Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 191 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2019

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 02/28/2024

Project Features


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The water in Roloko Village is not safe for human consumption.

The swamp was filthy and dirty during our visit. At some point, people have to wait until the water settles before they can access it. And even when the water is returned home, people still need to give it more time for the dirt to settle before drinking it.

"I would not drink from this water source," said Thomas Lewis, reporting officer.

This swamp is located in an area that makes it very tough for certain groups of people to access water. For instance, kids would not be sent alone to this water point for fear of them being attacked by wild animals.

Human activity is the major contaminant for this source. Basically, most people in this village use this source to launder and bathe. In the process, wastewater drains back into the source, and most of the chemicals used in these detergents are harmful to humans.

Moreover, farming activities such as watering can contaminate the source in the sense that they are not careful about the condition of the watering can. Open defecation is a possibility in these villages especially when they are on their farms, and some of these will take place close to the swamp often by the kids.

The majority of households have latrines, but the sanitation condition of the latrines in this village is below average. They are often not clean - the insides are wet since the floors are made of mud. And because they do not cover the pits, there are tons of flies and mosquitoes inside the latrine.

"We are not somehow careful about our hygiene and sanitation. We leave the village very early in the morning, with our compounds unkept. We also do not pay much attention to our latrines because of the excuse that we spend most of our time in the bush," Mr. Abdulia Bangura said.

This community has a very big history.

This is where all Lokomasama Paramount Chiefs are crowned and after this ceremony, that is, when once they are out of this village, these crowned Paramount Chiefs will never step their feet on this land again.

People in this community are predominantly farmers and involved with both swamp farming and bush farming. Mostly they are bush farmers with palm oil production as their area of specialization. They will produce the palm oil and take it to the one-day markets to sell. The proceeds are used to take care of the family.

This is a very Muslim community and most of them will rise very early, about 5:30am to ready themselves for their Suba prayers. At 7am most would be on their way to their farms.

What happens in the farm is dictated by the type of farming and the season. But at 7:30am most of these farmers would be around in the village, some will be readying themselves for their Maghrib prayer and the kids will be playing around. The day is filled with their various farming activities which most family members participate in.

When the children return home from school they help with household chores and caring for little ones and fetching water. The women will prepare the meal. By 10pm most of the people will go to bed after a hard day’s work.

Here’s what we plan to do about it:

Training

There will be hygiene and sanitation training sessions offered for three days in a row.

After our visit, the hygiene and sanitation trainer decided it would be best to teach community members how to build a tippy tap (a handwashing station built with a jerrycan, string, and sticks). They will use these tippy taps for handwashing demonstrations, and will also teach about other tools like dish racks and the importance of properly penning in animals.

These trainings will also build up and strengthen a water user committee that will manage and maintain this well. They will enforce proper behavior and report to us whenever they need our help solving a serious problem, like a pump breakdown.

New Well

This borehole will in Roloko Village, which is the best location because there are no latrines nearby.

Our team will drive over the LS200 mud rotary drill rig and set up camp for a couple of nights. Once the well is drilled to a sufficient water column, it will be cased, developed, and then tested. If these tests are positive, our mechanics will install a new India Mark II pump.

This community has struggled to find clean water to drink. By drilling this borehole, people living in Roloko Village will be provided with plenty of safe drinking water.

Project Updates


January, 2019: Roloko Community Project Complete

We are excited to share that there is a safe, reliable borehole well in Roloko Community. Community members no longer have to rely on dirty water from the swamp. Hygiene and sanitation training was also conducted in Roloko, which focused on healthy practices such as washing hands and using latrines.

New Knowledge

The hygiene and sanitation team made a visit to Roloko to determine what to teach about during training. They prepared the work plan, packed materials, and worked with the community to decide on a good time and place.

Training for all three days was conducted in the afternoons. In Sierra Leone, afternoons are generally very hot. Fortunately, this was not so in Roloko because this village is has so much shade. Everyone met under a mango tree adjacent the headman's house. People brought over chairs and benches from their houses.

The people were so curious to know what we'd teach about and could not wait to hear us speak. We started with handwashing and how to build a handwashing station called a tippy tap.

Building tippy taps

A particularly interesting question came from the headman who wanted to know how somebody can wash away something they cannot see. This question came because the instructor touched on microorganisms that are only visible using a microscope. And interestingly, the answer came from a young high school student who responded that indeed it can, and it prevents germs in the first place!

Training topics helped people differentiate between good and bad hygiene, taught about disease transmission, tools like dish racks and clotheslines, oral rehydration solution, animal care, latrine use, and pump maintenance.

People loved the session on oral hygiene because a big set of teeth were used to demonstrate toothbrushing. The trainer started by presenting the proper way to brush and then asked for two volunteers. The children loved trying out what they just learned, especially because they got to hold "The Teeth."

The Teeth

"I just learned that no one has a monopoly over knowledge and that nobody is too old to learn. Most of what we heard from the instructors we have never heard of in the past," said Mr. Kamara.

"What moved me personally was the lesson on the first day that talked about handwashing. Before now we do not really care about the consequences of not washing our hands. But you have educated us on that and we are very happy for such knowledge. Hopefully, behaviors will change positively."

New Well

The drilling of this new borehole was a success, and clean water is flowing!

"When I came home from school and heard that you guys were thinking of doing a well in this community, I was delighted. I said to myself, 'we are at last going to have safe drinking water in our community.' And this dream has finally come true," reflected 19-year-old Kadiatu.

"Now the first thing I am happy about is the elimination of the risk of waterborne diseases in this community. Our drinking water is no longer exposed to contaminants like our swamp source. Besides, it is close to all homes now. So we are very happy and only God will bless you for this kindness."

The Process:

After finding a place to camp, the team set up the drill rig and its water supply.

Community members helped so much by bringing water from the swamp for the mud rotary drill rig.

First, the team found 10 feet of red clay, then 20 of sand gravel, and 15 of sand. At this point, they hit a rock so changed to the rock drill bit. It took 40 minutes of drilling to get through to more red clay. They had drilled 90 feet at this point and decided to cut openings in the casing and finish off the process.

They bailed out the well to introduce clean water, packed gravel between the hole and the casing and then bailed some more. Next was the yield test.

But the team was distraught to find the well filled each bucket very, very slowly. And it would have to rest after each bucket! This would not do, so the team dismantled all of the pipes and moved the drill rig to another location.

There was much more sand at their new location so they were less worried about the yield test this time around. This time they measured 37.8 liters per minute with a total depth of 98 feet and static water level of 42 feet.

Soil samples that help identify where the aquifer(s) are.

With the great news of adequate clean water, the mechanics installed a new stainless steel India MkII hand pump.

There was much celebration with singing and dancing, especially when prayers at the mosque were over. The headman and our team let the celebration go on for a while before stepping up to make their statements.

Headman Kamara

Headman Kamara expressed gratefulness and our team followed up with reminders about how to take care of the pump. Everyone shared a meal and moved on to a life with clean water!




November, 2018: Roloko Community Project Underway

Dirty swamp water is making people in Roloko Community sick. But thanks to your generosity, things will change. We’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know your community 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!




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Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Pineapple Fund