Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 369 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jul 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/19/2024

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

The name Malokoh means "where things grow." The community is surrounded by swamps, and the people here rely on planting vegetables and petty trading. The earlier in the day that the acres of various vegetables ranging from okra, onions, pepper, cucumber and corn are watered, the better. The children and women get up at five in the morning and head out to the swamp to water their plots. They usually spend two hours in the morning and three hours in the evening tending the plants. It is tedious and time-consuming, but it puts food on the table.

The ashes from burnt leaves are sprinkled on vegetables every morning, along with fertilizer that is bought at the local market. The people who cannot afford to buy fertilizer combine with someone who can, and then the debtor's harvest will be sold to the person who lent the fertilizer for a price below market value. During the rainy season, the swamp is used for planting rice, the staple food in Sierra Leone.

In most communities, there are mosques at every corner but they are only busy during the month of Ramadan. Waking up early and getting home late from the swamp has prevented a lot of people from praying their five daily prayers.

Water Situation

Malokoh Community is so excited about this project. They have two protected wells in this busy area, located on either side of a dangerous throughway. We have been keeping an eye on these wells over the last few years, and the water user committee has been calling us to keep us informed. We noticed that during the driest months of every year from March through August, one of the pumps entirely stops yielding water. Calls from the community increased because of the dangerous position this put the people in, especially the children. Without water in that well, those seeking to fill their jerrycans have to cross the busy road and walk for quite a ways. And when both side of the road rely on one well, lines grow long and the well gets overused.

Cars race by, and it is particularly dangerous when the nearby ferry docks and departs. It is not uncommon for a road-crosser to be hit. And it's not uncommon that because of this unfortunate situation, women and children resort to taking water from more convenient, contaminated sources on their own side of the road.

Sanitation Situation

Most homes in Malokoh Community have a pit latrine. It was encouraging to see that most of these are in good condition, with some pits even being covered between every use. We believe conditions are this good because of the local hospital; many of the nurses live among these people. If not living there, there always seems to be a nurse out in the community center lecturing about proper hygiene and sanitation practices and how important they are for good health.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

There will be hygiene and sanitation training sessions offered for three days in a row.

Not many hand-washing stations were observed here. After our visit, the hygiene and sanitation trainer decided it would be best to teach community members how to build a tippy tap (a hand-washing station built with a jerrycan, string, and sticks). They will use these tippy taps for hand-washing demonstrations, and will also teach about other tools like dish racks and the importance of properly penning in animals.

Plans: Well Rehabilitation

The well marked for this overhaul is dry from March to August and 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 sufficient water column that 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: Malokoh Community

A year ago, generous donors helped restore water to a well in Malokoh 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: Malokoh Community

September, 2018

“I feel good and there is more time for me to study.” – Ibrahim Kamara

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Malokoh 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!

A year ago, generous donors helped restore water to a well in Malokoh 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.


There is a great positive change here. While the change is coming gradually, we are happy to see clotheslines, dustbins, toilets and handwashing facilities in some households that didn't have them before the project last year. People have seen that there is a better way to do things, and have made some great changes.

New latrines under construction

"The well was normally dry during the dry season. But since the coming of the project last year, converting this hand-dug well to a borehole, we are now boasting of enough water," Ibrahim Kargbo told us as he pumped water.

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.

Ibrahim Kamara

"My life has changed gradually over the past year and even my hygiene practices grow every day in my life," said 7-year-old Ibrahim Kamara.

"We used to fetch water at the stream before going to school and even after school to launder my uniform," Ibrahim recalled. "But this project has created more room for my studies due to the well they rehabilitated closer to my home."

"I feel good and there is more time for me to study."

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 Malokoh 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 Malokoh 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 Malokoh 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

Twincrest, Inc. - Ryan Longmire
Masconomet Middle School 7 Blue Team
First Congregational Church of Chatham
Jerusalem Church/VBS
HMR Management Corporation/Erich Shore
Waterville United Methodist Church
OfGiants-BeBetter
21
Arabel Lebrusan
Andrew and Adison Krantz
Rosemark Water Tanks
Haircuts for Hope
Girl Scout Troop 60213
92 individual donor(s)