Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 370 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2021

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 10/16/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The International High School For Science & Technology was constructed by Mohamed Kanu, a professor and a caring parent who saw the need for better quality education, beginning in 2016. It is situated on an acre of land owned by Mr. Kanu in Lungi. Mr Kanu is a native of this community and acquired this plot of land to help improve the lives of the people in the community. He saw a need for students to embark on the sciences as a course of study.

The school is located in the middle of the community with houses surrounding in all directions. The school opened its doors for enrollment in 2018 and has grown from 5 students when it started to more than 150 today. But it is being held back by the lack of water at the school.

Students must travel to the nearest community well which takes about 15 minutes to reach by walking. It is a hand-dug well that serves as the main water point for the nearby community, so it is often over-crowded. The stress on the point causes the water recharge rate to slow significantly which can make fetching water take even longer.

Because of the crowds, students at the school try to go when there are fewer people - which means in the middle of the school day. As a result, the time that the students are meant to spend in class is used fetching water. Headgirl Mabinty is in charge of picking the students who go to get the water from the well every day. She usually picks the two students who arrive at school last as a form of punishment for being late to school.

"They go to the water source and most times they only come back after spending hours. I am supposed to follow them but it also takes away from my class and study time. I should not have to miss class to supervise fetching water," she said.

What we can do:

New Well

We will be drilling this well at International High School For Science & Technology. This project will relieve the people here of their water challenges.

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 been pushed to open, contaminated well for their water. By drilling this borehole, Tholmossor Community will be provided with plenty of accessible clean drinking water.

Training

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

Community members will learn how to make a handsfree handwashing station called the "tippy-tap." We 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. We will highlight the need to keep latrines clean, among many other topics.

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

Project Updates


February, 2021: International High School For Science and Technology Project Complete!

We are excited to share a safe, reliable borehole well at International High School For Science and Technology is already providing clean, safe water! The students and community members no longer have to rely on unsafe water to meet their daily needs. We also conducted hygiene and sanitation training, which focused on healthy practices such as handwashing and using latrines.

New Well

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

"I have gained clean and safe water and an education. What more can a girl ask for?" said Rebecca, a student at the school.

Due to coronavirus-related restrictions, we held a small handing-over ceremony at the water point. The dedication was attended by a representative from the inspector of schools, the Local Council, and the school's proprietor. The students present in the dedication were reduced to a hand-picked group to respect the government's social distancing law.

"My daughter is also a student at the school, and having clean and safe water within the school compound is going to beneficial for both students and teachers. I will now breathe a sigh of relief because our students can now stay in the school compound and do what students do best - learn," said Mohamed Lamin Kargbo, a teacher at the school.

In a demonstration of our continued efforts and determination to promote climate change mitigation, we also embarked on a tree-planting ceremony at the school compound. The ceremony was to bring awareness of the effects of global warming on a large scale.

The Process

The team arrived the day before construction began and set up their tents to stay at the school. Their materials were stored at the school, and the community provided meals for the team while they worked on drilling the well.

Two pits were dug next to the drill rig, one for the drill’s water supply and another for what is pulled out of the borehole. In some cases, we order a private supplier to deliver the water for drilling since water access is already a struggle.

Day one of drilling starts by filling the two pits with water mixed with bentonite. A four-inch carbide-tipped bit is fixed to the five-foot-long drill stem. The mud pump starts to supply water to the drill rig, and the drilling begins. The team takes a material sample after every five-foot length of drill stem is put into the hole. The bags were labeled and reviewed later to determine the aquifer locations.

On the second day of drilling, the team expands the hole and clears it of mud. The team reached a total depth of 25 meters.

The team forcefully pumps clean water into the well to clear out any mud and debris from drilling. After, the screened pipe is protected by adding a filter pack. The team hoists the temporary drilling casing to fortify the pipes with cement.

The well is bailed by hand for three days before conducting a yield test to verify the water quantity. This well's yield was 30 liters per minute, at a static water level of 18 meters.

Yield test

With these great results, a stainless steel India MkII pump was installed. Water quality tests show that this is clean water fit for drinking!

New Knowledge

Before conducting any hygiene training, we made repeated phone calls and visits to the local water user committee and school leaders to understand better the school's challenges and lack of sanitation facilities. We brought the findings from our baseline survey to the committee’s attention to help them make the necessary adjustments before the training or drilling could commence. When all the required guidelines were met, only then did our team of hygiene trainers go to conduct the training.

Before the training, the water user committee members were contacted individually and asked to ensure that every household sent a representative to training. The number of people that were ready to attend the celebration was too high, however, and the number had to be drastically reduced to meet the government's COVID-19 restrictions.

The training was held inside one of the classrooms, spacious with enough ventilation to allow breathing space. The training was held with social distancing in mind. Because of the virus, our teaching style was modified to meet the requirements set by the government while at the same time making sure the message still gets to everyone in the school and community.

COVID-19 sanitization at the well

Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps; good and bad hygiene; disease transmission and prevention; worms and parasites; proper care of teeth; adequate care of the pump; keeping the water clean; the cost recovery system; dish racks and clotheslines; the importance of toilets; keeping the latrine clean; balanced diets; the diarrhea doll; and HIV and AIDS.

"The training was precious to my family and me. During the hygiene training, I was only thinking about learning everything to the best of my ability and later will have the responsibility of making sure my family and friends are also imparted with the knowledge," said Aminata, one of the students at the school.

"It is crucial to think about the well-being of others, and whenever knowledge is given to one person, it becomes the responsibility of that person to make sure that the information meets the last person in that environment."
Thank you for making all of this possible!




November, 2020: Lungi, International High School For Science & Technology project underway

Dirty water is making people at the International High School For Science & Technology in Lungi, Sierra Leone sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this 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 news of success!




Project Photos


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!


A Year Later: Free From Waterborne Diseases!

January, 2022

A year ago, your generous donation helped Lungi International High School For Science & Technology in Sierra Leone access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Marie. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Lungi International High School For Science & Technology.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Lungi International High School For Science & Technology maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

Marie, 16, shared what it was like before her school had a new well installed last year. "It was very challenging as [a] pupil coming to this school during those dark days before this project was completed. Our school is located in a lonely place and for us to have water to drink during school hours was very difficult. It was affecting our learning and the hygiene in the school was very poor to the extent that some [of] our colleagues used to [be] sick [with] cholera due to the water we were drinking in the community."

But since the well was installed last year, Marie and her classmates have had access to clean water consistently. "I am feeling good because I have access to clean and safe drinking water. We are free from waterborne diseases and our hygiene has improved greatly because we have [this] water facility in our school compound. We do not go out to buy water during school hours anymore and we are happy as pupils and [a] community as a whole."


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Lungi International High School For Science & Technology maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Lungi International High School For Science & Technology – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.


Contributors

Data Abstract Solutions, Inc.
Facebook Donations
Numined Diamonds
Lebrusan Studio
Facebook Donations
Wood Badge Course 92-63
North Dunedin Baptist Church
Bounce Treatment Services
Google Matching Gifts
St.. Johns Episcopal Church, Norwood Parish
The Clorox Company
@oh.mysoap
Rose of Sharon Family Christian Center
Taylor Ruffo
Liberty Mutual Matching Gifts
Abigail's Campaign for Clean Water
Lawrence's Campaign for Water

And 1 other fundraising page(s)
145 individual donor(s)