Mayan Community

The 230 people of the Mayan Community struggle to access sufficient water. Without a well in their community, they have to collect all of their water from a stream that risks their health every time they consume it.

17-year-old Zainab F., seen below, shared how the water crisis has affected her. "The water crisis is a serious problem in this community, especially in the dry season. We normally go to the stream to fetch water since our community does not have any wells. The water from the stream is not pure for drinking because it is a risk factor for us to be exposed to diseases. Drinking this water makes us sick. That is why waterborne diseases like diarrhea, typhoid, and dysentery are imminent in this community."

Not only do the community members risk their health using the water they collect from the stream, they may risk their safety on their journey there. Women and young girls are often disproportionally affected by a water crisis. They bear the burden of water collection in their homes, sacrificing their other duties and educations.

Content Warning: Some of the information in this report may be upsetting for readers. There are references to sexual violence.

Field Officer Julius Sesay shared, "The other challenge they face is that the road (seen below) to the stream is dangerous. I was able to notice this because I went to the water point with them. Honestly, one will be afraid to walk freely, especially in the evening hours. The bushes around the road will terrify water users from going to the water point alone. This becomes scary for most women and girls [who] are living in the village. They will be scared of snakes and other animals that may attack them. The women and girls will be afraid of being raped or sexually assaulted by men."

"I normally go late to school due to the long walking distance to the water source. I go to the water source every morning before going to school. The distances affect me because I must do a lot of trips before leaving for school. By the time I am through with this work, I will barely have enough time to prepare for school. I am one of the students [who are] not punctual in school. Missing important lessons due to my lateness has affected my performance in school. Carrying jerrycans and climbing the hill will be hard to do. I have fallen on the hill on several occasions hereby sustaining severe injuries," Zainab continued.

45-year-old farmer Jariatu Sesay, seen below, is familiar with the struggle of sacrificing other crucial life tasks. She shared, "The stream is our main source of water in this community. Fetching water from this source can be difficult to do because the distance is too far. The thing that pains me more is when the water becomes dirty. Even fetching water for drinking will not be easy for me. I go to other communities to fetch water, which is very challenging. During the holy month of Ramadan, I suffer more. This is because I must provide enough water for my family. It is during those times more water is needed to cook, clean, hold ablutions for prayers, and launder. I suffered during this time since water will not be available at our main source. I must go to other areas trying to fetch water. Imagine I am observing the fast and then walking [a] far distance to fetch water. I will be very hungry and tired to fetch and transport water at home. This alone makes me exhausted."

Jariatu and Zainab's stories, unfortunately, are not unique in the Mayan Community, nor is this a new problem.

Jariatu continued, "Ever since I was a child, we have been living like this. Several people have come into this community claiming that they are from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). They made us contribute money for them, promising that they will give us a new well. All those promises are empty promises with no result. It's [been] over five years since they disappeared."

Without easy access to safe water, the people of the Mayan Community will continue to face extreme health and safety challenges. They are unable to work towards improving their lives, as almost all their time and energy is consumed by their water crisis.

"I will be happy if my community will have a new well. This will prevent me from walking far distances to go in search of water from other places. Cooking, laundering, and other domestic work will be done at home easily. This is because enough water will be available to serve us at home," concluded Jariatu.

The installation of the well will enable students like Zainab to expend less energy on water collection and give them an opportunity to focus on their education to create a brighter future for themselves and their community. Adults, like Jariatu, can focus on their livelihoods and other crucial tasks.

The Proposed Solution, Determined Together...

At The Water Project, everyone has a part in conversations and solutions. We operate in transparency, believing it benefits everyone. We expect reliability from one another as well as our water solutions. Everyone involved makes this possible through hard work and dedication.

In a joint discovery process, community members determine their most advantageous water solution alongside our technical experts. Read more specifics about this solution on the What We're Building tab of this project page. Then, community members lend their support by collecting needed construction materials (sometimes for months ahead of time!), providing labor alongside our artisans, sheltering and feeding the builders, and supplying additional resources.

Water Access for Everyone

This water project is one piece in a large puzzle. In Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, we're working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources that guarantee public access now and in the future within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. One day, we hope to report that this has been achieved!

Training on Health, Hygiene & More

With the community's input, we've identified topics where training will increase positive health outcomes at personal, household, and community levels. We'll coordinate with them to find the best training date. Some examples of what we train communities on are:

• Improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits
• Safe water handling, storage & treatment
• Disease prevention and proper handwashing
• Income-generation
• Community leadership, governance, & election of a water committee
• Operation and maintenance of the water point

Project Updates

April, 2025: Mayan Community Well Complete!

We are excited to share that your donation provided a safe, reliable well in the Mayan Community. As a result, community members now rely on safe water to meet their daily needs! We conducted hygiene and sanitation training, which focused on healthy practices such as handwashing and using latrines.

"This community has existed for so long without a reliable water point. The completion of the new water point will help to improve the lifestyle of my children. They will be able to practice good hygiene, and they will also be able to improve in their academic pursuits," shared businesswoman, mother, and Vice Chairperson of the Water User Committee, Jariatu Sesay, 56.

Ms. Sesay.

"There will be an income for me with the implementation of this new waterpoint. As a trader residing in this community, I need sufficient water to be able to meet my customers on time. Meeting my customers on time will make me earn more income. This can be possible if there is enough water within the community. The earlier I go to my business center, the more income I get. So, the new water point will help me to get more income," she continued.

12-year-old Abu is excited about his future potential with clean water. He said, "The completed waterpoint will improve things for me. For example, I will be able to go to school on time, and my academic performance will improve by scoring good grades. There will be [an] improvement in hygiene practices compared to the previous years. I will be able to eat on time, and there will be enough water to clean my school uniform."

Abu.

After construction was complete, we held a dedication ceremony to officially give responsibility for the well to the water users. 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 those who contributed to this water project and reminding everyone to care for it. Then, Jariatu and Abu made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

New Well

The community provided space for the drill team to store their belongings and meals for the duration of their stay. We were ready to begin drilling!

Drilling begins!

We drilled until we reached a final depth of 24 meters. The team did a soil test, bailed the well, and flushed it, clearing any debris generated by the drilling process. This well has a static water level of 12 meters. Finally, we tested the water flow to ensure the well would provide clean water with minimal effort at the pump.

Yield test.

As the project neared completion, we built a cement platform, walls, and drainage system around the well to seal it from surface-level contaminants. The drainage system helps to redirect spilled water to help avoid standing water at the well, which is unhygienic and a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Finally, we installed the pump and conducted a water quality test. The results showed the water was fit for drinking!

The well is complete!

Community Education

Before conducting any hygiene training, we collaborated with the local water user committee to understand the community’s challenges. We identified households without handwashing stations. With this information, community members worked together to improve hygiene and sanitation at home before the training.

We 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 Sadiatu Wurie was instrumental in reinforcing each lesson.

We scheduled a time when members from each household using the waterpoint could attend a three-day hygiene and sanitation training and dispatched our teams to hold the meeting.

Handwashing and tippy tap training.

We taught the participants about proper handwashing, personal and menstrual hygiene, and healthy habits such as using latrines and maintaining a balanced diet. We discussed how disease transmission and water hygiene are crucial to community health. We emphasized the importance of maintaining and caring for the well pump and the cost recovery system.

"This training has impacted my ideas on how to practice good hygiene. With the help of what I have learned here today, I will be able to practice good hygiene within and outside my community. This training has helped me to know how to wash hands, construct [a] tippy tap, and how diseases are transferred from one person to another. I have also been able to know the importance of constructing a toilet and the use of dish racks in each household. With these ideas I have gathered, I will [be] able to put them into practice, [which] will help me in the future," Jariatu shared.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

March, 2025: Exciting Progress in Mayan Community, Thanks to You!

We’re thrilled to share that, thanks to your generous support, significant change is coming for Jariatu and the entire Mayan Community. Construction has begun on the well project, bringing them one step closer to having clean, reliable water.

But that's not all—during construction, we’re also providing vital health training. These sessions equip the community with essential hygiene practices, ensuring that the benefits of clean water extend to lasting health improvements.

We’re so grateful for your role in making this possible. Stay tuned for more updates—soon, we’ll be celebrating the arrival of safe water in Mayan!