May, 2022: Tardi Community 2 Borehole Well Complete!

We are excited to share that there is now a safe, reliable borehole well at Tardi 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.

Community kids splash water with Osman Fofanah from the Ministry of Water Resources.

"I used to fetch water from the swamp, and it is a far distance," said 14-year-old student, Mahawa T. "The swamp water is not clean. It was not easy for me to fetch enough water from the swamp to do all the activities at the house. The swamp area is dangerous because there are wild animals, including snakes, along the way to the swamp. I sometimes had to go to the swamp together with other people to fetch water."

Mahawa cups her hands beneath the pump.

"I am happy because of the new pump in this community," Mahawa continued. "I can now fetch water at any time without waiting to go along with other people. I will not waste time as I used to do at the swamp. The pump water is clean, and it is good for drinking. It is good now to fetch water from the pump."

Mayelie Bangura, a 36-year-old petty trader, explained the community's water crisis before the new well was installed.

"I had to wake up early in the morning to fetch drinking water because the water at the swamp would get hot after the morning hours," Mayelie said. "There is no cover and the direct sun [on] the water at the swamp makes it hot to drink. The water is not clean, and it is not good for drinking, but there was no other water well in this community."

Mayelie, left, splashes water with Abubakarr Bangura from the Port Loko District Council.

"The new water well is the best," Mayelie continued. "I believe that it will help to protect us from sicknesses because it is clean. I spent more time on fetch water from the swamp but it now quite easy to fetch water from the pump to complete other domestic activities early. I am happy today because of the new pump we now have in this community."

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members. The ceremony opened with a prayer led by the Chief Imam. Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Port Loko District Council, and the Ward Council. The community people sang songs in their local language welcoming the guests.

Community singing.

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, Mahawa and Mayelie made statements on their 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 27 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.

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 8.5 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, 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.

After this preparatory period, we scheduled a time when members from each household using the water point could attend a three-day hygiene and sanitation training. We then dispatched our teams to the agreed-upon location to hold the meeting.

Attendance was better than expected. Each household sent more than one representative to all three days of training, which demonstrated their commitment to bettering their community's hygiene and sanitation standards.

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.

The most memorable topic for Tardi's people was dental hygiene. Some members of the community who had tooth decay initially blamed their teeth's condition on chewing kola nut, but further questioning from the training facilitators found that they had not been practicing good oral hygiene. By the end of the topic overview, everyone in attendance had agreed to take better care of their teeth moving forward.

"This training is valuable to me because water is life," said water user committee chairperson Momoh Bangura. "Initially, I had no knowledge about hygiene and sanitation and how to take care of my community and my house. Washing my hands with soap and water after using the toilet, brushing my teeth two times a day, the importance of cleaning the latrine, the value of dishracks, and, in fact, everything about this training is important to me. I will put them into practice."

The water user committee displays their certifications at the new well.

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: Tardi Community 2 Well Project Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Tardi 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!