January, 2022: Modia Dee Borehole Well Complete!
We are excited to share that there is a safe, reliable borehole well at Modia Dee. As a result, 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 am overly excited for the new water source we have gotten in this community. Life was hard without safe water in the community. I went through constraints on providing water for my family," said Isatu Conteh, a 28-year-old trader. She continued, "I believe this has ended our struggle for water and am quite sure that this well will save us from sickness."
Isatu was overjoyed with clean water!
We held a dedication ceremony to hand over the well to the community members officially. The ceremony began with opening prayers and playing with water at the new well. Many community women and children sang in the local Temne dialect and danced to show their appreciation for providing them with a safe and sustainable water source.
Singing and dancing to celebrate the new well.
The ceremony was attended by several local dignitaries from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Port Loko District Council, the local Council, authorities from other communities, and the resident local Regent Chief. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project. Then, Abdul M., a 15-year-old student from the community, made a statement on his community's behalf.
Abdul gives a speech during the dedication ceremony.
Abdul said, "This community has no school, so I walked far to my school in Musaiya Village every school day. It was not easy to wake early in the morning to fetch water from the swamp before and after school every day. I always pray[ed] for rainfall during the rainy season so it would help to reduce the frequent moments of fetching water from the swamp."
He continued, "I am happy now that we have water in this community which I can get access to at any time and less burden and not be afraid of snakes in the bush."
The Process
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, along with meals for the duration of their stay. The following day, the work began.
Our team dug two pits next to the drill rig, one for the drill's water supply and another for what the drill pulls out of the borehole. In some cases, we order a private supplier to deliver the water for drilling since water access is already a challenge.
Day one of drilling began with the team filling the two pits with water mixed with bentonite, an absorbing, swelling clay. Next, the team fixed a four-inch carbide-tipped bit to the five-foot-long drill stem. They started the mud pump to supply water to the drill rig so that drilling could begin! The team took material samples after putting each five-foot length of drill stem into the hole. We labeled the bags so we could review them later to determine the aquifer locations.
On the second day of drilling, the team expanded the hole and cleared it of mud. After reaching a total depth of 30 meters, the team forcefully pumped clean water into the well to clear any mud and debris from the drilling process. We then protected the screened pipe by adding a filter pack. The team hoisted the temporary drilling casing to fortify the pipes with cement.
Chlorinating the well.
Next, we bailed the well by hand for three days before conducting a yield test to verify the water quantity. The well has a static water level of 10 meters. With these excellent results, we installed a stainless steel India MkII pump. Water quality test results showed that this is clean water fit for drinking!
Clean water for all!
New Knowledge
Before conducting any hygiene training, we made repeated phone calls and visits to the local water user committee to understand better 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.
Participants learned about mosquito nets and malaria prevention.
After this preparatory period, we scheduled a time when members from each household using the water point could attend a multi-day hygiene and sanitation training. We then dispatched our teams to the agreed-upon location to hold the meeting.
Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps, good and bad hygiene habits, disease transmission and prevention, worms and parasites, dental hygiene, proper care of the well's pump, keeping the water clean, the cost recovery system, dish racks and clotheslines, the importance of toilets, keeping latrines clean, balanced diets, the diarrhea doll, and HIV and AIDS.
Teacher John Kalley, 32, shared, "This training was valuable as we were able to learn new skills and ideas in taking good care of ourselves and our community to stay safe and healthy. I believe that if this knowledge and skills are put into practice, there will be an improvement in the quality of good health in our communities."
Mary K. during the training.
"Yes, this training was valuable to me because it has created awareness on the use of face masks and the physical distances and the proper handwashing skills," said Mary K., 16.
Mary continued, "The most helpful part is that I now have a better awareness of how to prevent myself from the [COVID-19] virus, most especially [with] frequent hand washing and the wearing of face masks when I am in public places. This training will help in saving my life and the life of my community people."
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 our field officers to assist them. Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our ongoing monitoring and maintenance program.
Thank you for making all of this possible!
Rehabilitation Project
