Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 350 Served

Project Phase:  Canceled/Re-Allocated
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Project Features


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Upon entering Matong village, the first thing our team saw was a school. The school has a large and bare playing field where children play soccer. As one continues down the road, houses line both sides. Most of the 750 people here make a living as farmers. The plots of land and extensive gardens are traditionally inherited from father to son. At the center of Matong is the community mosque.

Parents and children spend their free time sitting under large trees, enjoying the cool breeze. The hot and humid African sun prevents people from being indoors during the day. The hot roofing material increases the temperature by at least ten degrees.

It was the start of the harvest season during our visit, and there was plenty of food available. At this time of the year, children and adults sit with a bucket filled with different mangoes, find a cool area and eat a dozen or two.

The primary water source, which happens to be a hand-dug well with a hand pump, was dug in the 1980s. The area around the well is filled with mud. Large stones are on the ground where they stand as they fetch water and another stone to place the container.

Since the well is not properly maintained, it is open to contamination. The health consequences of drinking water from the well include contracting waterborne diseases like typhoid, dysentery, cholera, diarrhea, worms, and parasites.

"Ever since the only hand-dug well was constructed, there has been nobody else to assist us with another one until now. I wish there is something I could have done to construct another well in the village, but my choices are limited," said Town Chief Alimamy Sillah.

The village is more than a mile long, and accessing the only protected water point in the town is a burden for most people who live in the lower part of the village. Walking the distance of almost a mile to acquire water sometimes is skipped and resort to using water from the scoop hole.

"The only time I can handle the long lines is when I need water for drinking. Under no circumstances am I to fetch drinking water from the scoop hole. That rule helps me a lot because I easily go around the back of our house and fetch water, not worry about being late to school. My father has a bicycle, and it helps me a lot when I have to fetch water from the hand-dug well," shared Musa K, a 12-year-old boy who lives in the village.

The scoop hole is contaminated, with dirt, fertilizer, and soil runoff contributing to the contamination. Like the well, the people who drink water from the scoop holes are exposed to waterborne diseases.

What we can do:

New Well

We will be drilling this well at the central mosque in Matong Village. It is centrally located and will relieve many people of the long journey to fetch water. 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 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 restrooms 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.

Project Updates


October, 2023: Matong Community Project Canceled!

Thank you for your generous contribution towards a new well in Matong, Sierra Leone. When we attempt to install new water projects, sometimes we hit a roadblock and are unable to complete the original plan due to factors outside of our control. Sadly, this project has been canceled. When we attempted a second drill to address the original issue of iron in the water we found the water at the deeper level is salty and unusable.

If you have any questions, please know we are happy to discuss this change further. And we hope that a notice like this, although unexpected, is actually further proof your gifts are being carefully used towards a water project that lasts.




March, 2023: Matong Community Project Still Delayed

As you may remember, we encountered some unforeseen issues with the water quality while drilling in Matong. We do not yet have a viable solution but are working tirelessly with the community to find one. We want them to have reliable, safe water, so we are not satisfied and are still working with everyone to find a possible solution.

We're always open to conversations about our process and are happy to answer your questions. Thanks for your patience as we strive to discover a solution. We hope to share more positive news in the near future.




December, 2022: Matong Village Borehole Delayed

Although the construction at Matong Village is still delayed, we may have a solution to the high mineral content in the water. Our teams are attempting to drill another, shallower well in another promising area. We'll let you know whether this was successful as soon as we can!

In the meantime, we've been working with the community to improve their hygiene and sanitation (which, as you might know, is tricky without a source of reliable water). We held a latrine-building competition to lessen the rates of disease-spreading open defecation in Matong. This will help curb the worst of the community's illnesses as we work to find a sustainable water solution for them.

As always, we are so grateful for your contribution toward improving lives in Matong. We will keep you updated as things progress, and hopefully report good news early next year.




August, 2022: Matong Community Project Delay

Everyone in Matong is excited for their new borehole well. However, we encountered some unforeseen issues with the water quality while drilling. We want the community to have reliable, safe water so we are not satisfied and are still working.

We're exploring alternative methods, locations, and ideas to get reliable water to the people of Matong...doing so might just take us a little longer than planned!

We're always open to conversations about our process and are happy to answer your questions. And, if you get a notice like this, it’s actually further proof your gifts are being carefully used towards a water project that lasts.




January, 2022: Matong Village Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Matong Village drains people’s time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this community through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!




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!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - StossWater