Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Aug 2018

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 02/08/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

Modia itself is in the far west of Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom and used to be a very rural community. But this community has undergone some urbanization as a result of migration. Most of its trees have been cut down to make way for new homes, and as a result, the community has lost most of its vegetation. It is still considered one of the more rural areas though.

The buildings are of varying types, but most are built of locally produced mud blocks, some with cement plastering and arranged in straight lines on opposite sides of the road.

While men work most of the day to provide a living for their families, women are also expected to bring in money to help the household. Generally, children’s care is largely the women’s responsibility. When children are not in school, they are expected to help with household chores, and many parents will put their children out with items to sell.

In this community, we found traders, fishermen, farmers, and some people with vocational skills.

The average day normally starts at 5:30am when Muslims prepare for prayer. Fetching water is one major daily activity that motivates some early risers in this community. School pupils normally rise early to fetch water for their homes. No matter what group you fall under, most people have left for their various points of livelihood by 8am.

The school kids are expected home around 2:30pm, except for those in exam preparation classes. When children return home from school, they are expected to fetch water, wash their uniforms, help with household chores, go for tutoring, and help cook. After they eat, they need to go fetch more water to wash and then go to bed.

There are about 700 people living in this area. (Editor's Note: While this many people may have access on any given day, realistically a single water source can only support a population of 350-500 people. This community would be a good candidate for a second project in the future so adequate water is available. To learn more, click here.)

Water Situation

Some private contractors dug a well years ago. They dug the well to the depth that it is, never making sure it would be a good, reliable water source. They got tired of digging so they stuck a bucket of water down inside the well and then connected a hand-pump. They then took pictures to send to whoever their donor was, showing water coming from the pump. They were confronted by the community and then ran away never to return to make the well a good one.

There are other hand-dug wells in the neighboring communities, but access to them is limited for community outsiders. With hand-dug wells in this area of Sierra Leone, diggers often cannot hit the required depth for water to recharge all 365 days a year. Even the water quantity at the swamp gets low during the driest months, and community members have to dig a hole to find water. However, the swamp is always the easiest place for people to find water.

"I do experience loss of energy if I don't have enough clean water in my system. I also have observed that my headaches get bad if I go for long without water, particularly when I spend more time under the sun as a trader," Pa Santigie Kamara told us.

Sanitation Situation

This community has a mixture of good and bad latrines. There are those with average sanitation, and others with bad sanitation. There are still a handful of households sharing sanitation facilities. If they have a guest over, they'll have to send them over to their neighbor's latrine.

Most people have and use clotheslines to dry their clothes up off the ground, but they need more of them. There aren't many dish racks, so containers just sit out on the ground. Most animals are left free to roam, even in and out of homes and kitchens.

"What is helping this community is the visits from the sanitary department. The people know that they will pay fines if they are careless about their sanitation. Yet we still lack dish racks and animal houses, but we have plans to correct that as a community. Most of the homes have latrines, and we have since let everybody know that the holes should be covered. So I consider this project a plus for our hygiene and sanitation in this community," Pa Ibrahim Dumbuya said.

The hygiene team will be able to reinforce the need for more dish racks and animal pens.

What we can do:

Training

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

The hygiene and sanitation trainer decided it would be best to supplement the local leadership's ongoing effort to improve life in Modia. They will come alongside the current program and teach about the importance of dish racks and animal pens for each family. Pictures will be used to teach the community how to discern between healthy and unhealthy hygiene and sanitation practices.

These trainings will also result in a water user committee that manages and maintains the new well. They will enforce proper behavior and report to us whenever they need our help solving a serious problem, like a pump breakdown.

Well Rehabilitation

The hand-dug well that was never finished properly no longer has a hand-pump (the one pictured on this report). It is located at 4 Father Road. Our team plans to finish the job those contractors started years ago. They will do the hard work of drilling a borehole by hand in the bottom of this well, which will not only increase the water quantity but will ensure its quality, too. A new well pad will keep contaminants out, and a new India MkII stainless steel pump will provide easy and safe access to the clean water inside.

This community has been drinking dirty swamp water and suffering the consequences. With our rehabilitating this open well, Modia Community will be provided with plenty of safe, clean drinking water.


This project is a part of our shared program with Mariatu’s Hope. Our team is pleased to provide the reports for this project (edited for clarity) thanks to the hard work of our friends in Sierra Leone.

Project Updates


August, 2018: Clean Water in Modia Community

We are excited to share that there is a safe, reliable water point in Modia Community, already providing clean water to families! People here no longer have to rely on dirty water from the swamp. Hygiene and sanitation training was also conducted, which focused on healthy practices such as washing hands and using latrines.

New Knowledge

The team sent a member to inform this community about a proposed hygiene training session. Later, reminder calls were made to the chairman of the water committee. On the morning of the training, another call was made to the same man so that he would get the community settled at the venue before the team arrived. This training was held under a shady mango tree close to the chief’s compound.

The turnout was great! The community has been excited about this project since the start.

Everyone was open and engaged throughout every topic. During nutrition sessions, an old lady spoke up to express her concerns.

"The African stomach will not appreciate light food like the European stomach does. We need a lot of energy for our activities! Besides, vegetables and fruits are our major source of income. If we eat them, we lose income."

It was great to interact with participants and move through these concerns.

Training topics included handwashing and how to make a tippy tap handwashing station, good and bad hygiene, disease transmission, tools like dish racks and clotheslines, oral rehydration solution, animal care, latrine use, and pump maintenance.

Community members helping each other make tippy tap handwashing stations.

People were especially interested in learning how to care for their water source. If water users take proper care of their well, there is zero chance of contamination. We reviewed the pump rules: Children under age eight are restricted from using the pump, shoes need to be removed, a gate built at the well entrance, etc. The village elders promised to enforce these rules and charge violation fines that can be saved towards future pump maintenance.

Parents appreciated learning about an oral rehydration solution to make if their young children ever get diarrhea. This is a simple, life-saving formula to use if the child cannot be transported to a clinic. This solution will counter the deadly impact of waterborne diseases like cholera.

"Most of what was taught during the three days of training were all things I had never learned. In fact, the first day gave me the encouragement to follow the training throughout. Without any hesitation, I will say that what I have learned so far will help me to improve my health. I am a countryman who had little regard for handwashing before. But this exercise has taught me the reasons why I should be washing my hands regularly," shared Mr. Allaymatu Conteh.

"I will personally apply these lessons and supervise my kids to do the same."

Clean Water Restored

The first thing the drill team did when they arrived in Modia Community was to contact local leadership, and then find a place to camp. The village elders found a free room for the team to store their equipment in.

Here is how they restored clean, reliable water here:

1. Raised the tripod

2. Found the original depth (for this well, we measured 60 feet)

3. Socketed the pipes

4. Installed casing

5. Lined up the drill rods

6. Drilled!

Drilling by hand is always hard labor. The team first hit sand for 25 feet. There was sandy clay for five more feet, at which point the team was confident that with the additional 30 feet, this well would serve the community through the driest months. Now, this well has a total depth of 90 feet.

7. Installed screening and filter pack

8. Cemented an iron rod to well lining, and fixed it with an iron collar at the top

9. Bailed the well by hand for three days

10. Tested the yield (we got a static water level of 70 feet going at 53.2 liters per minute)

11. Built a cement platform, walls, and drainage system

12. Installed a stainless steel India Mk11 pump

The hand-drill method allows the team to install the cylinder far below the aquifer so that the community has great water access throughout the year.

13. Water quality test

The Ministry of Water Resources has verified that this well meets the World Health Organization’s standards for drinking water.

When our team heard the good news of clean water in Modia, they grabbed the boombox and headed out to celebrate with the community. At the sound of music, people flocked to where we were at the well. People sang, clapped, and danced around their restored water point. Some children and mothers were invited to taste the water coming from the pump, but they ended up having a ton of fun splashing in the water, too!

We thoroughly enjoyed working with these people every step of the way, and look forward to our relationship as we return for monitoring visits and continued support.

"We celebrated this well even before it was finished. Some of us cannot afford packaged water. Our best bet would be for our kids to visit any source, protected or not. And that exposed us to a lot of waterborne complications," said Haja Fatu Dumbuya.

"This well has brought life back to this community, and our hygiene is now guaranteed."




June, 2018: Modia Community Project Underway

Dirty water from the swamp is making people in Modia Community sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know your community through the narrative and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!




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.


Giving Update: Modia, 4 Father Street

November, 2019

A year ago, your generous donation helped Modia, 4 Father Street in Sierra Leone access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Santigie Kamara. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Modia 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!

It is very exciting to drive by this well and see the line of people fetching water who last year were suffering so badly, reported our team after a recent visit to 4 Father Street. This project has been such an incredible blessing to this community, they added.

"I thank God for this facility given to us. My life has changed greatly," said Mariama Kamara, a 17-year-old student.

"For more than ten years we have been suffering to fetch water which was not even pure. Now I have access to safe, pure and clean water to drink at all times."

The community has improved a lot in the area of hygiene and sanitation. The elders in this community are playing a great role in order to keep the community clean. The well site is one of the manifestations of the cleanliness of the environment. In just a year lives have changed for the better here.

"The intervention was very much timely and that changed our lives. Our lives are better now compared to the past," said Santigie Kamara, chair of the water committee.

"The changes in this community are not hard to see. Our wives no longer need to wake up early each morning to fetch water. Currently, you can visit the water point whenever you choose to and collect water."


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 Modia 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 Modia 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.


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Pineapple Fund