Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 437 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2022

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 10/28/2024

Project Features


Click icons to learn about each feature.



Community Profile

Report Submitted by
Mohamed S. Turay, Reporting Officer

Jesus is the Way School was founded in April 1995 by Reverend Kadie Vandy as a small primary and secondary school. She saw the need for more schools in the community to reduce class congestion at other schools and support the government's free quality education efforts. The school began with just 30 pupils and expanded to have pre-primary students in 2001. Today, more than 437 students attend the school.

The growth of the school is missing a crucial thing - a source of safe, reliable water. The main water point for the school is an open well. A rope is tied to the end of a five-gallon rubber bucket that has to be hoisted up the depth of 50 feet, making it impossible for most students to accomplish. When - and if - the staff responsible for fetching water cannot provide the needed amount, the older students are asked to give a helping hand.

"Water duty is always on my students, and in most activities, the older boys and girls will be the lead participants. Morning and afternoon, my students are taken away from their classes and asked to spend half an hour to an hour fetching water. I am absolutely not very pleased about not having access to clean and safe water for my students," said Principal Alfred Kallokoh.

Each day at school, water has to be fetched early in the morning and early in the afternoon. The afternoon water is used to clean latrines and other areas that need frequent cleaning within the school.

Each time the rope and bucket are plunged into the well, it takes with it bacteria that further contaminate the already dirty water source. The water table has dropped to the point that it interrupts the availability of water to the school pupils, making it harder for students to supply their school's water needs. People that drink water from an open and unprotected well are prone to fever, malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera.

What we can do:

New Well

We will be drilling 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, Jesus is the Way School 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


January, 2022: Masoila Jesus is the Way School Well Complete!

We are excited to share that there is a safe, reliable borehole well at Masoila Jesus is the Way School. 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!

Isatu D., 15, is excited to be in class again. She said, "I felt bad because of the way I was rejected at the pump where we used to fetch water that is away from the school. I am very happy that my school has a new water well that is now providing enough water to drink. This is now helping me from going out to get water, which caused me to [be] late or be out of lessons."

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members that began with opening prayers by Reverend Kadie Vandi and students singing songs of praises and dancing together with the teachers and other invited guests. It was attended by several local dignitaries from the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Basic Senior Secondary School, and the Port Loko District Council. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project.

Then, the principal of the school and student Komrabai K., the head of the new well's Student Union Supervising Unit, made statements on their community's behalf. The new student supervision unit was established after the hygiene and sanitation training. They will be responsible to facilitate the proper use of tippy taps, toilets, and trash pits, and to maintain the cleaning of the newly constructed well. It was a remarkable day with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Councilor Abubakarr celebrating with students.

"Since the establishment of this school, there had always been a great challenge on getting water to use. Today, it is a relief for the school to have a safe drinking water well," said teacher Alfred Kalokoh, 34.

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.

Chlorination.

On the second day of drilling, the team expanded the hole and cleared it of mud. After reaching a total depth of 28 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.

The new pump.

Next, we bailed the well by hand for three days before conducting a yield test to verify the water quantity. The yield of this well was 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!

New Knowledge

Before conducting any hygiene training team members went to the school to inform them about the upcoming training and better understand the school’s challenges and lack of sanitation facilities.

After this preparatory period, we scheduled a time when students and teachers could attend a multi-day hygiene and sanitation training. We then dispatched our trainers Fatmata Kalokoh, Rosaline Ngekia, Joe Kamara, and Isatu Sesay to lead the sessions. A total of 223 students and teachers attended the training held over 5 days.

Learning about tippy taps handwashing stations.

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.

Learning how to brush teeth properly.

The training on dental hygiene was an informative session for Ruth Kargbo, a teacher. She said, "It is essential to everybody, especially to my very self. Before this training, I was in the habit of exchanging my toothbrush with my child every morning. Year after, my child started experiencing toothache at a young age. But this training has opened my eyes and given me lots of knowledge about the mode of transmission and how to store toothbrushes anytime we have used." She continued, "All the training ideas I have received, I will share to others who did not attend this training."

Isatu (on the left wearing a cap) celebrates with students and Port Loko District councilman Mr. Bangura.

Isatu, a 15-year-old student, shared, "The training is valuable to me because it opens my eyes to know new things which I never knew before. Before this time, I never used to wash my hands in the correct way. But the training today has helped me to know the techniques involved in doing handwashing practices. If I practice all that I have learned from the training, I will not be easily sick."

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!




December, 2021: Jesus is the Way School Borehole Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Jesus is the Way School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this school 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!


A Year Later: "The water point saves time"

January, 2023

A year ago, your generous donation helped Masoila Jesus is the Way School in Sierra Leone access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Sylvia. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Masoila Jesus is the Way School.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Masoila Jesus is the Way School 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!

Life for students at Masoila Jesus is the Way School was difficult last year when they spent much of their day collecting water from their school's well. Sadly, it was an open, contaminated well, and they had to drop a bucket into the water and then painstakingly pull up each bucket by hand using a rope.

"Before this project was completed, the school was without a pure drinking water point. We [were] out of class to go in search of water, and most times [we] missed the first teaching class in the morning. Also, it was challenging to practice proper hygiene behavior," said 15-year-old Sylvia K.

But we installed a new well last year, and since then, life has changed for students.

"The water point helps me to fetch enough water for my class. This was an area that I found hard to accomplish because of the water situation in the school. I [am] now able to fetch water with ease due to the proximity of the well. Now, all these challenges [are] over. In addition, the water point saves time. I [can] now concentrate on the lessons in school because I [am] not going to other areas to fetch water," said Sylvia.

"I want to give a big thanks to [you] for the water point. The water tastes fine, and it has never dried," concluded Sylvia.

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 Masoila Jesus is the Way School 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 Masoila Jesus is the Way School – 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

2 individual donor(s)