January, 2023: Tulun Community New Well Project Complete!
We are excited to share that there is now a safe, reliable borehole well at Tulun. As a result, 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.
"I am grateful for this project, more especially to [you] for giving us this long-term help," said 76-year-old housewife Veronica Luseni.
Veronica at the well.
"This [well] can serve us, and even generations yet unborn," Veronica continued. "My children used to fetch water from the swamp since our community did not have any well. It was challenging for them because of the long walking distance and the color of the water from the swamp. The water was unfit for any domestic use. Since we had no choice by then, we still used [the] water. On several occasions, the water [would run] dry, and this made it impossible for us to fetch water. That is why I am happy about the new water point."
Veronica celebrates.
"Now, I will be able to save because I will no longer buy bundles of water," Veronica continued. "The money will be used to accomplish other important things at home. Likewise, the new water point will enable handwashing to be done in my house. Prior to this time, the act of handwashing was treated with less interest. Not because I wanted to treat it that way, but [because] the water situation was affecting handwashing in my household."
Kids were just as excited as adults about the new source of water in Tulun.
"The new water point is really a blessing to me. The new water point will help me to fetch water on time and then prepare early for school," said 15-year-old Sylvanus K.
Sylvanus splashes water.
"I suffered a lot when our community was not having a well," Sylvanus continued. "I would walk [a] far distance to the stream to fetch water. Fetching water from this source was challenging. The thing that pained me the most [was] when the water in the swamp [would get] dry. This made the burden of fetching water increase. Now that we have a new water point, I believe all the initial constraints will become history. My parents will no longer scold me to fetch water because the new water point is very close to our house. I will make sure I complete all the household chores on time since enough water will be available to serve that purpose."
We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members. Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Port Loko District Council, the Ward Council, and the Ministry of Water Resources.
Ward Councilor Koroma dances with community members.
Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to this water project and reminding everyone to take good care of it. Then, Veronica and Sylvanus 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 20 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.
Community members helped by bringing containers for the 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 nine meters. With these excellent results, we installed a stainless steel pump. Water quality test results showed that this was 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.
We also invited a nurse from the local clinic to help explain some topics and spread awareness about Sierra Leone's free vaccinations for children under five. Nurse Elizabeth was instrumental in reinforcing each lesson.
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.
Nurse Elizabeth explains the importance of using a mosquito net.
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.
One of the more memorable topics of the training was teenage pregnancy, which is a significant problem in Tulun. Nurse Elizabeth asked everyone at the training whether people ought to evict their pregnant teenage daughters from their home. Most of the community members responded that they should. The nurse was going to respond, but one of the women in attendance stood up and asked if she could share a personal story.
"This woman became pregnant at a tender age," said our field officer, Julius. "She was around fifteen years when she got pregnant. Her parents wanted to drive her away, but they thought [about] the implication of such actions. They allowed her to undergo the duration of the pregnancy 'til she finally delivered. After delivery, she continued going to school. From that time onwards, she became very serious and even completed Senior Secondary School. She sat for her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) exams and got the requirements. She enrolled at Adkan College, and she is now doing her course. Despite [her] early pregnancy, [she] continued with her studies. The rest of the participants were carried away by her story. I looked at the expression on their faces, and it was clearly seen that their perception would change from that day."
Handwashing demonstration.
Another notable topic was handwashing, for which we demonstrated the correct methods. One of the community members explained to the others that he learned about the dangers of handwashing incorrectly the hard way. He had attended mosque, and everyone had washed their hands using water from the same bowl, which, unfortunately, only served to share germs among all those gathered. He and several others who had attended the service suffered from serious health problems afterward. Since then, he has only used a tippy-tap (a handwashing station) at his household.
"This training has given me insight because I have learned so many things that will bring a change in my life," said Veronica (quoted earlier). "During the training, I learned how diseases can be transmitted from one person to another through our hands, using the same toothbrush, and not wearing shoes or walking with bare feet. Therefore, to break the spread of diseases, we must always wash our hands with soap and water properly by using hand washing techniques. This must be done after using the toilet and before eating. I will never allow the things I have learned to depart from me. Rather, I will put them into practice. Therefore, I will pass on the things I have learned [about] hygiene to my children and even my grandchildren. Truly speaking, good hygiene will promote our health. That is why I will not neglect it."
Conclusion
This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members themselves. 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 their local field officers to assist them.
Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.
With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In our target areas, we’re working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!
Thank you for making all of this possible!
Rehabilitation Project
