Rehabilitation Project
The Port Loko District Disabled Association Office lacks an accessible water point for its staff and visitors. Most of the people who come to this area have some form of disability. To get water, they must rely on other people since there is no water at the site and the nearest sources are not handicap accessible. This is a crowded part of Rotifunk community, which means that water points often have long lines. That makes people reluctant to get water for the people who come to the office, restricting access to water.
"Water is costly in these parts, and I will not be able to afford to buy water every single day. I can only afford to buy water to drink. At the same time, at the office, and even at that, we can hardly make ends meet," explained Abdul Kamara, the President of the Disabled Persons Association in Port Loko District.
"Without accessible and affordable water sources, we as disabled people can only use this building as an office and nothing more."
One of the people who have to fetch water for the office is a 15-year-old boy named Mohamed. He told us that he wakes up early each morning to travel to neighboring communities to get water and bring it back. Sometimes he finds he is too early, and the pump is still locked, so he must seek water elsewhere. Other times, long lines have formed, which delays his chore. As a result, Mohamed said he is often late for school.
"I have devoted a lot of time in helping all the members in any way I can," he said.
The main well and alternate water sources, which are not far from each other, are both privately owned and highly restricted and expensive. Rotifunk is a fast-growing business community, with shops, loud music, and a noisy environment where everyone tries to sell one thing or another. This community has welcomed people from all over the country.
It is a melting pot of people trying to get a better life. Rotifunk has become the business center of Kaffu Bulloum Chiefdom. People are scrambling to get the smallest piece of land to build their dream home. Because of the large number of people in this community, people have large water storage containers that they sometimes pay hired help to support them through fetching water.
What we can do:
New Well
We will be drilling this well at 22 Kasongha Road. This project will relieve the people here of their water challenges. This well will be located on the property of the Port Loko District Disabled Association office and will serve the people who use the office and local community members.
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, Rotifunk 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 hands-free 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.
This training 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 in solving a serious problem, like a pump breakdown.
