Rehabilitation Project
When the team arrived the community was utilizing a river as their primary source of water and because of this residents were suffering from Dysentery and Malaria. During the team's stay the community assembled a water committee consisting of three men and three women who assisted the team with the water project and by providing materials. The majority of community residents sustain a living by farming, trading and teaching and the nearest school is located one kilometer away from the community. Before leaving the team provided a contact number with community resident Momodu Kamara incase their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.
The team had an opportunity to meet with twenty-eight year old community resident and local nurse Mamenata Dumbuya who stated, "With the stream water, it has some particles in it but not so with the new. The old water caused sickness due to the cover not being closed the right way. With the new cover it will protect people from sickness. The distance to fetch water is much shorter and it will be very easy to access the water with the new hand pump."
During the hygiene education there were sixty-eight adults and twenty-nine children in attendance and the following principal issues were addressed: Disease transmission, Germs, Hand Washing- proper techniques and water saving methods, Healthy Unhealthy Communities, Oral Rehydration Solution, Proper care of the pump, Keeping the water clean, Good-bad hygiene behaviors and Disease Transmission Stories. After the education the team distributed sixtyeight Oral Rehydration Solution spoons to resident families. The team also addressed the community’s practice of open defecation by demonstrating how a fly lands on feces and how it brings feces back to their food. Then they eat not only their own feces but their neighbors as well. The community was appalled by this and said they would immediately put an end to this practice. The team then discussed how to construct a native toilet and shared that it would help stop disease transmission.
