Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 90 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 11/27/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The 90 people of Laminiya struggle every day to access enough water to complete their essential daily tasks.

The primary water source people rely on is the local dug well in the swamp area, but it presents some serious challenges. It is open to contamination, making community members ill, and it is seasonal, drying up for several months every year. Not to mention that it is far away and overcrowded with people all struggling to collect water.

"The water situation in this community is not easy. This is affecting me greatly," said 16-year-old Aminata K. "The reason is mainly because the swamp well we fetch water from normally gets dry during the months of March to April. This makes it very difficult for me to fetch water except, I go down to the swamp in Gberay, which is miles away from this community."

Aminata finds it hard to fulfill her duties at home because of the lack of accessible water and is sometimes the brunt of her mother's frustration. Her mother gets angry and takes it out on Aminata because without water, meals cannot be cooked, and the tasks to make an income cannot be completed, such as planting and processing rice and washing fruit she sells in the market.

"For this work to be done, water is highly needed," said Aminata. "The difficulty in fetching water makes it hard for me to fetch enough water to serve this purpose.  Although I have my younger siblings at home, they cannot help me at this time because of their age. That is why the responsibility of fetching water solely depends on me. I would be glad if this community would get a new waterpoint. All the water constraints I used to experience would become a thing of the past."

"I am greatly affected with the water situation in this community. I hardly have enough water to water my plants," said 38-year-old Abibatu Kamara shown below collecting water from the dug well in the swamp.

"For one to fetch water, you have to exercise a lot of patience. If not, you would not be able to fetch water. The waiting time really hinders things I want to accomplish for the day. Sometimes, I would be delayed to the point that I end up going to the farm in the afternoon hours. This situation has really affected the growth of the plants, and this is reducing their yield."

Without water that is easily and quickly accessible, life for people in Laminiya is tiring and discouraging.

The installation of a new borehole well will enable Aminata, Abibatu, and others like them to have the time and energy to focus on making positive steps forward.

What We Can Do:

New Well

Where we will be drilling is centrally located and will relieve many people of the long journey to fetch water and the challenge of accessing clean water.

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.

By drilling this borehole, TKKK and the surrounding 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


March, 2023: Laminaya Community New Well Complete!

We are excited to share that there is now a safe, reliable borehole well at Laminaya Community. 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 happy to witness this day in this community. I had struggled so much for accessing water in this community. I want to thank you for constructing this well for us. The construction of this water well has helped [prevent] me from drinking unclean water," said 15-year-old Aminata K.

Aminata washes her hands.

"Another impact this water well has played in my life is that I will be able to go to school on time," Aminata continued. "Education is my priority. As a student, this priority will not come to reality without sufficient water. This water well will make me be able to do well in school. It will happen because the cry of water shortage in this community is over."

"I want to thank you for constructing this water well for us in this community. Before this time, I was suffering to get water that is not pure and safe," said 39-year-old farmer Abibatu Kamara. "With the completion of this water well, I will be able to do my household work easily and fast because there is now sufficient water in our community. This water point will also help me to get safe and pure water that my family and I will use for drinking and cooking. Also, I will be able to go to my farm without delay."

Abibatu splashing water!

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 and the Ministry of Water Resources. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to this water project and reminding everyone to take good care of it. Then, Aminata and Abibatu made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Celebration!

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 15 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.

Installing the pump.

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 seven meters. With these excellent results, we installed a stainless steel pump. Water quality test results showed that this was clean water fit for drinking!

Clean water!

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.

A nurse reviews hygiene lessons with participants.

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.

Learning about latrines.

One of the lactating mothers present at the training named Yabom recounted a story of her cousin Memunatu visiting her. Yabom's baby was sick, and Memunatu blamed Yabom's practice of not washing her hands after she cleaned her baby's bottom. Memunatu had previously attended one of our hygiene trainings, and showed Yabom how to wash her hands properly with soap to prevent spreading illnesses. Memunatu then encouraged Yabom to take her baby to the hospital for treatment.

Discussions about disease transmission.

"The training was very much valuable to me because I was able to learn a lot of things about hygiene. Based on the lessons, I am aware that most of the diseases we suffer from are related to poor hygienic practices [like] failing to wash our hands, not covering our food, failing to cut our fingernails, and the lack of care of our latrines. All these unhygienic practices affect our health," said Abibatu, quoted earlier.

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!




January, 2023: Laminaya Community New Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Laminaya 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!




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!


Clean Water Improves Aminata's Daily Life!

April, 2024

A year ago, your generous donation helped the Laminaya Community in Sierra Leone access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Aminata. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Laminaya Community 2.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Laminaya Community 2 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!

Sixteen-year-old Aminata recalled what life was like in the Laminaya Community before her community's well was implemented last year.

"Before this time, I used to go to Gboro to fetch water. It was hard to look at the distance and [the] road to the water source. There are times I would even fetch water at night, especially during the month of Ramadan. As a result, it was difficult for me [to] have time to study. This was even affecting my performance in school," said Aminata.

Collecting water is now less physically taxing for Aminata and the other community members in Laminaya.

"Now that the project is completed, I am able to fetch water from it easily as the well is close to our house. This prevents me from going to Gboro to fetch water," Aminata continued.

Aminata pumping water from the well.

Having ready access to water from the well has made a difference, allowing Aminata to concentrate on learning.

"I am now able to launder my school uniforms with less constraints due to the water well. I have enough time now to rest and study my notes," concluded Aminata.

Aminata washing her hands near the well.


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 Laminaya Community 2 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 Laminaya Community 2 – 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

Sweet Home M. B. Church
20 individual donor(s)