Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 247 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jul 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/16/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Mariatu's Hope of Sierra Leone. Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the Community

A normal day starts at 5 AM to get ready for the day. The majority of community members here are Muslim, but not every Muslim gets up this early to attend prayers at the mosque. Many locals are much more concerned about putting food on the table for their families.

Fetching water in the wee hours of the morning is not something the children look forward to, but they have no choice but to carry a bulk of the hard work around the house. After fetching water, they head home discussing the day's events and anticipating the leftover rice that their mothers are warming up. They get home and finish their chores by sweeping and washing pots and pans. Their school uniform is ironed by older siblings or parents, who use a local charcoal iron. The coal sometimes burns the uniform, and thus some students are seen with patches of varying colors.

Water Situation

There is a seasonal well within the Tholmossor community, at the home of Section Chief Pa Alimamy. It was constructed in 2001. Years later, we began receiving calls from the community, who asked us to visit the well and see what was going wrong. It turns out that during the dry months when there's no rain, the well stops producing water.

The dry season impacts anywhere from two to six months. When this happens, community members have to go elsewhere for their water. There is another hand-dug well in the community, but it is ten minutes away. The walk to this other well is along a busy road, and small children risk injury by speeding cars and motorbikes. And this being the only other protected well, the crowds at the source become unbearable. To avoid this stress, many locals resort to an open well that is much closer.

This second hand-dug well and the other contaminated source also run low during the dry season, though not as severely as the one we plan to repair. When water in these wells in inaccessible, community members draw their drinking water from a swamp.

This season affects small children the most, whether it be the long walks or the consequences of drinking dirty water.

Sanitation Situation

The majority of households here have a pit latrine, though the majority of them are not clean! People here carry around body spray to use after being in a latrine. If not, the latrine's odor will linger for hours!

The homes look clean, but they're lacking facilities. There are no helpful tools like dish racks and hand-washing stations. Animals like chickens and dogs are allowed to roam freely, even into the kitchen to enjoy the warmth from the leftover charcoal or firewood.

Plans: Sanitation and Hygiene Training 

Training will last for three hours a day for three days. The facilitators have already assessed sanitation here and decided that hand-washing will be strongly emphasized. During our hand-washing sessions, community members will be taught how to make their own hand-washing station out of a plastic jerrycan, sticks, and rope. These are the best solution for rural areas, since all the materials are all easily replaceable. The same thing will be done for dish racks.

Other sessions will teach about how important it is to have a well-built and well-cleaned latrine. They should have roofs and the pit should be covered when not in use. Before construction work can begin, every single household must have their own pit latrine.

Training will also result in the formation of a water user committee that will take responsibility for their new well. The members will manage and maintain the pump to the best of their ability, and will call our office if they need a mechanic to make a repair.

Plans: Well Rehabilitation

The well marked for this overhaul needs major work to supply adequate, clean water to the community year round. The pump will be removed, and a man will be lowered inside with a hand auger. This hand auger will allow the team to drill several meters deeper to hit a new water table, which will ensure the well supplies water throughout the drier seasons. As the team drills, casing will be installed, transforming this hand-dug well into a pseudo-borehole. PVC piping will connect this lower system directly to the pump, a construction that we know will also improve the quality of water.

Once this plan is implemented, everyone within the community will have access to safe drinking water in both quality and quantity, even through the dry months.

Project Updates


September, 2018: A Year Later: Tholmosor Community

A year ago, generous donors helped restore water to a well in Tholmosor Community, Sierra Leone. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories. Read more...




Project Photos


Project Type

Hand-dug wells have been an important source of water throughout human history! Now, we have so many different types of water sources, but hand-dug wells still have their place. Hand dug wells are not as deep as borehole wells, and work best in areas where there is a ready supply of water just under the surface of the ground, such as next to a mature sand dam. Our artisans dig down through the layers of the ground and then line the hole with bricks, stone, or concrete, which prevent contamination and collapse. Then, back up at surface level, we install a well platform and a hand pump so people can draw up the water easily.


A Year Later: Tholmosor Community

September, 2018

“Now, I have enough time to study and I also go to school on time.” – Zainab Kamara

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Tholmosor Community 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!

A year ago, generous donors helped restore water to a well in Tholmosor Community, Sierra Leone. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – we’re excited to share this one from Omoh Emmanuel with you.


Before last year, school pupils and workers used to wake up very early in the morning to search for water. Thanks to an intervention that restored water to a well, daily life has changed. People now have safe, clean, and accessible water throughout the year.

This water isn't only being used for drinking, but for practicing good personal hygiene and for cleaning the environment. It's a beautiful, clean community and the water well is extremely well-cared for. Yet the community is growing rapidly, with new buildings being raised on every corner. It will be important to monitor population growth in regards to the amount of water available so that the good health and hygiene witnessed here remains.

Isha Wurie, who takes care of the water point and keeps our team up to date on how it's working.

Isha Wurie is the pump caretaker, and says that she and her neighbors have been enjoying "very good, pure, safe and fresh drinking water." Isha has done a wonderful job keeping the water point clean.

Restoration of the well is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

There are shrubs planted beside the well, and drainage has been dug to keep the area free of puddles.

Zainab Kamara is only in class four, but she is still able to remember life before clean, reliable water. "Going to the swamp was always a painful and stressful thing for me. Carrying water on my head for long distances always gave me pain and made me filthy because by the time I got home my feet and legs were all dirty with mud," said Zainab.

"Now, I have enough time to study and I also go to school on time..."

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

One project is just a drop in the bucket towards ending the global water crisis, but the ripple effects of this project are truly astounding. This functional well in Tholmosor Community is changing many lives.

This is not possible without the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.

Read more about The Water Promise and how you can help.


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 Tholmosor Community 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 Tholmosor Community – 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.