Rehabilitation Project
Ebola's Impact
As you know, Ebola has been a tragic reality for the people of Sierra Leone over the last year. In the middle of this, we’ve remained more committed than ever to the people of Sierra Leone through a service and support program that focuses on keeping water flowing at approximately 100 previously installed projects. And, as you know, we’re also providing new water access for communities- made possible because of your support. Our teams have been brave and selfless – and we are so proud of them.
Very recently, Ebola has made a resurgence in our area of operation. Our team was providing service to a previously installed water point at a large regional hospital, and returned the next morning to find the entire area under quarantine. Unfortunately, this meant that many of our tools were also under quarantine. This, along with restoring some water points post-quarantine has led to reasonable delays in our program. We are very happy, after some delays, to bring this report to you.
We are in weekly contact with our team in Sierra Leone, and everyone is safe. The entire team continues to express their gratitude for your support of communities in Sierra Leone, and we can’t wait to celebrate safe water together!
Background Information
Bormodia (Bo-moh-dee-yah) is a growing village which can be accessed two ways. One is way is to drive through Sanda and the other is to go along the Port Loko Road. In either direction, The Water Project (TWP) has completed projects. But this middle village has suffered for drinking water, having to walk up to an hour one way to go to the "nearest" stream. There is another village not too far away that has safe drinking water but they will not allow the people of this community access to the water because they already do not have enough water for themselves.
When doing the baseline survey, we met 43 households with a total of 425 people, 199 of them being children and 226 being adults. Part of Bormodia runs along a rural road and the houses are made out of mud blocks and the other half runs along the newly renovated Port Loko Road, where there are several newer houses being constructed out of mud blocks and cement blocks. Interestingly enough, many of these newer houses do not have latrines. The survey found that there was a fair amount of open defecation with some latrines. There are no hand-washing stations. There are some who have dish racks and clotheslines. There is a lot of overcrowding in homes, with some homes having as many as 15 to 20 occupants.
This is a farming community. The children in this village walk a great distance to go to school either at DEC Makassa, where TWP has done a sanitation project, or to Sanda, where TWP presently has plans to drill a borehole.
For the community development, we will discuss ways the community can improve their environment with the hopes that the discussion will spur those without latrines to build them, even if they are simple native toilets. During the rainy season, a hole in the ground is better than nothing. We will also show how to construct a tippy tap, a simple hand-washing station, and will discuss how to keep water clean, as well as discuss ways to improve the quality of life.
We interviewed the senior headman, Pa Ibrahim Bangura, who explained how for years this community has really suffered for water for the past 29 years. He was very, very excited and so thankful to TWP and Mariatu’s Hope for taking the time to see their community and interview him. With new houses being constructed, it is time for development of safe water source as well.
Plans are that the well should be constructed in the more rural part of the community that has mud houses because that road meets up with Sanda, where we will also be drilling a well. This way it will reduce the number of children who will have to cross the very busy Port Loko highway.
The houses along the Port Loko road are being built with higher quality building materials and chances are a hand dug well may sprout up from one of those owners. There is already one house that has a hand-dug well in the cluster of new houses, but at this time they are unwilling to share it with the community. If a borehole is drilled on the opposite side of the road, they may change their minds.
Pre-Borehole: We held a community meeting which included the local stakeholders and the Section Chief to discuss the scope of the project. This included both hygiene and sanitation training as well as the level of involvement expected of the community. We encouraged every household to attend the meetings. We discussed the location of the borehole and were affirmed that we had chosen the right location. The location was then approved by the Ministry of Water Resources.
The community voted for and formed a Water User Committee which wrote and then signed a Constitution for Water and Sanitation. A water user fee was approved by the committee, which will collect le1,000 (.23USD) on a monthly basis from each household.
Technical Details: This well was drilled using an LS200 portable drill rig. The team drilled to a total depth of 29 meters, whereat there was a great amount of water available. The community worked with one volunteer we had trained on developing the well by hand. This requires a bit of manpower and can take anywhere from three to five days to complete. After the well was cleared, the yield testing was done. Test pumping produced a well yield of 15 gallons/minutes - more than enough for the use of a hand-pump. To maximize water quantity from available aquifers, we included two areas of well screens in installation. Water quality testing done by the Ministry of Water Resources, which showed that the water is safe for consumption. The well pad and its walls could then be constructed.
Hygiene Training: We use a PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Training) approach, including and encouraging participation. There were several hygiene trainings held in this village. The primary focus was on hand-washing and sanitation practices, as well as how to prevent Ebola.
There was a great attendance of adults and children. The lessons presented were the importance of hand-washing, good and bad hygiene, healthy and unhealthy community, disease transmission stories, proper care of the pump, keeping the water clean, the importance of using a latrine, and finally, the community constructed tippy taps (hands-free hand-washing stations). Everyone was so fascinated by the tippy taps and really loved how much this technology would save them water. For those who attended, we asked them to share this technology with at least one other person. We also encouraged them to think about where would be a good place to build a tippy tap and then when you would wash your hands there.
One of the community members who attended this training was a woman by the name of Emma Bangura. She is a teacher at God Will School in Punka Village. She is wheelchair-bound and can only walk very short distances. She has polio, but can stand up when she is holding onto something. She said that she always had to use the students to fetch water for her home. Our hygiene trainer said that she felt pity for Emma because her movement is so slow. Most of the time she arrives at school late, but with the installation of the hand pump, she is filled with joy. She celebrated openly and everyone took note of her. Now she says her suffering is over. Now, she is fetching her water for herself. Emma played a great role in mobilizing the community for the training, using her wheelchair to gather the community for the meetings we held.
Interviews:
Name: Dauda A. Sawanneh Age: 31 Gender: Male Occupation: Farmer and Headman
What you've done for us is very great! I did not know how to thank you and the donors because so many politicians and NGOs have promised to dig a water well for us, but they failed. Also, a rich man in the next community dug a water well and he did not allow the commoners to fetch water from his well, so unless we went to the stream to fetch water, we would have none. So you have changed the taste of stream water in my mouth. You have made me proud of my companions. The village has been changed.
Name: Isata Kamara Age: 42 Gender: Female Occupation: Farmer
The only NGO that promised and fulfilled their promise to us is Mariatu's Hope. I have given birth to four children in this community, and I have taken care of my children through swamp water, and I have kept the taste of swamp water in my mouth for a very long time. Only Mariatu's Hope through their donor, The Water Project, have come and changed the taste of swamp water in my mouth. I could not express the joy I am experiencing. I am always thankful to you people. You also gave us hygiene training which made me to experience about how to take care of my children, my house, toilet, and myself. May God continue to inspire the donor's heart for them to send more money for the next community.
Name: N'Mah Kanu Age: 18 Gender: Female Occupation: Student
Since I started my school, I was bathing and drinking stream water. But, by the help of you and your donor, to show the love you have for us, you have come to our country and our village without anyone paying you any money. You dug a well without asking us for any money. Mariatu's Hope has made my companions in school to stop laughing at me. Thank you The Water Project, and Thank you Mariatu's Hope!
Dedication: The community gathered with much gratefulness for the dedication. So many community members commented on the fact that for all their lives and the lives of their anscestors from this village, no one had ever had access to safe drinking water. This water well has impacted this community on so many levels; from the reduction of sickness to the children getting to school on time, to the disabled being able to fetch their own water.
Mr. Robert did the dedication and shared the Bible story about the woman at the well and how his prayer is that the people of Bormodia would never thirst again. The dedication was translated from English to Susu, the tribal language of the community. There was cheering and dancing because the people were so excited. The Imam also prayed and asked God to bless Mariatu's Hope, The Water Project and the donor.
This will be a day that the children of this community will tell to their children and grandchildren, and we're sure they will tell their descendants. Such a wonderful, wonderful day!
Monitoring and Evaluation: The next scheduled follow-up is in January.
Thank You for making all of this possible!
