Neneh Koroh Community

May, 2022: Neneh Koroh Community Well Complete!

We are excited to share that there is now a safe, reliable borehole well at Neneh Koroh Community. As a result, the students and community members no longer 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.

Trader Musa Kamara, 28, said, "The construction of this new water point has helped me. Before this time, I must walk [a] far distance to fetch water from the stream, which is not even pure. But now, I can fetch pure water from the well, which is closer to my house."

Musa (far right) celebrating clean water with others.

Student Isatu B., 17, said, "This new well will enable me as a student to be punctual in school and have enough time to study. Initially, I used to wake up very early in the morning to go in search of water at the stream or the neighboring communities. This made me go to school late and hindered my time as a student to study at home."

Isatu holding clean water.

"But now, I believe all these problems have been solved because I now have a well in this community that is reliable, safe, and pure," concluded Isatu.

Community members celebrate by dancing.

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community that began with community members saying both Christian and Muslim prayers. Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Water User Committee, the Port Loko District Council Office, and the Ministry of Water Resources. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project and reminding the staff and students to take good care of it. Then, section Chief, Pa Kombrabai Sesay made a statement on the community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

New Well

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 and meals for the duration of their stay. The following day, 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 challenging.

Day one of drilling began as the team mixed water with bentonite, an absorbent clay, in the two dug pits. 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!

After putting each five-foot length of drill stem into the hole, the team took material samples. We labeled the bags to review them later and 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 28 meters, the team forcefully pumped clean water into the well to remove any dirt 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.

Yield Test.

Next, we bailed the well by hand for three days before conducting a yield test to verify the water quantity. This well has a static water level of 16 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!

Installing the pump.

New Knowledge

Before conducting any hygiene training, we called and visited the local water user committee to understand 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.

Learning proper handwashing techniques.

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.

Learning about good hygiene behaviors.

Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps, good and bad hygiene habits, disease transmission and prevention, COVID-19, worms and parasites, proper dental hygiene, proper care of the well's pump, keeping the water clean, the cost recovery system, the importance of using dish racks and clotheslines, the importance of toilets, keeping latrines clean, balanced diets, the diarrhea doll, and HIV and AIDS.

Disease transmission discussion.

Training participants had quite a discussion about the topic of disease transmission. One man argued that their tradition of collecting water from the stream was not harmful and actually made them stronger but someone else reminded the group that animals and humans bathe and defecate in that same water making it unsafe for human consumption. The group concurred that they now know it is not safe to use the water from the stream and should collect water from the waterpoint going forward.

The water committee chairman, Musa Kamara, 28, shared, "With this new knowledge that I have learned, I have a better understanding of good hygiene practices. Because when it comes to handwashing and its techniques, washing my hands after using the toilet, before [the training] I was not doing it. But now, with this new knowledge, I will change from the bad hygiene practices."

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!

March, 2022: Neneh Koroh Community New Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in the Neneh Koroh Community 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!