October, 2019: Giving Update: Yongoroo Community, New Life Clinic

A year ago, your generous donation helped Yongoroo Community, New Life Clinic in Sierra Leone access clean water.

There’s an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water at New Life Clinic. Month after month, their giving supports ongoing sustainability programs that help this community maintain access to safe, reliable water. Read more…

May, 2018: Clean Water at New Life Clinic

We are excited to share that there is safe, reliable water in Yongoroo New Life Clinic, which is 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

Attempts to organize the three-day training were initially unsuccessful. We traveled to the community to hold the training and were told that the fishermen had gone out to sea and would not return for a few weeks. Another attempt failed before agreeing on a date with the help of the community headman.

Once we gathered together, things went better than expected. We had so much success and the people attending were excited to participate and learn.

"My memories of the past unsuccessful days were soon erased by level of cooperation that the people displayed on subsequent days," one of the trainers said.

The first day was primarily about handwashing. We used empty jerrycans, string, and other materials to build these, and encouraged participants to return home and build another. Once we finished, we set up one of the handwashing stations to demonstrate how to properly wash your hands. Proper handwashing at all the proper times is the easiest way to prevent sickness.

Because of the high illiteracy rate in Sierra Leone, people really respond to this method of training, as well as the hands-on with the tippy taps.

The second day we discussed daily habits and how they affect health in ways the community never imagined.

There are some topics best presented using pictures. The team holds up different scenes that participants would see on a daily basis. The people were especially interested in this particular topic for one reason: for each scene displayed, there was at least one household guilty of the hygiene mistake portrayed. You could see participants glancing over at the leaders of guilty households. This ended up being quite funny in the end, because everyone was guilty of doing at least something wrong.

It’s important to always use a latrine, pen in animals to keep them out of the kitchen, always cover food and so many other things. The trainer showed how if you don’t go about your daily business the right way, there can be deadly consequences. We also trained on oral rehydration solution (ORS) because we know that even with the greatest effort to prevent diarrhea, it will still be an occasional issue. This ORS will help keep community members, especially children, healthy as they recover from diarrhea.

The final day was all about caring for the water point so that it serves generations to come. After, we took time to review the important takeaways from the three days of training.

“We know that it is good to be clean. But actually, do not understand what constitutes cleanliness," Mrs. Isatu Mansaray, a nurse at the clinic, said.

"Most of what we have learnt from you people used to be taken for granted by us, because we are uneducated. But I must confess that the teachings have actually changed our lives in this community. We now know how washing our hands after toilet will benefit us,”

Clean Water Restored

The team of three artisans set up their camping gear near the water point and performed the necessary checks on equipment to get them ready for the next day’s operation. The proceeded to rehabilitate the existing well.

This is how it was done:

Socketing the pipes
Because the sizes of the original sockets are not always appropriate, fire is set to heat pipes that to be used to improvise sockets. The heated pipe fits into the other pipe so that it further opens to create an improvised socket.

Fixing the tripod
Three metal pipes are connected to make a single pod, there are nine of those needed for a tripod. A rope is then passed through a pulley attached to the top end of the tripod. This rope is tied to the bucket auger drill bit to the drilling rod and lowered inside the temporary casing to the bottom of the well.

Finding depth
After the installation of the tripod, the static level and total depth are established. For these levels, the team uses a drop line that has a metal tied to one end. This line is dropped into the well and tied at the frame of the well to indicate the total depth of the well. The tied portion of the line to the watermark is the static level. If you subtract the static level from the total depth, you get the water quantity.

Installation of casing pipes
A 6" casing pipe is fitted into an iron plank and riveted for a firm grip. A nut is then slacked from the plank and a rope tied to the 6" socket is pulled to allow the pulley to easily lower the pipe into the well. A strong board is laid on top of the pipe and forcefully hit to let it sit tight at the base of the well.

Lining up of drilling rod
These rods are numbered and connected accordingly. A rope is tied to the end of the last rod which will be pulled and released instantaneously so that the drilling bits will dig a borehole into the soil down the well.

Drilling
At the start, the team encountered different colors of clay which were worrying signs that a difficult task lies ahead. Yet they continue to drill through the clay layers and finally hit the sandy layer. This, of course, was a good sign for one reason, that is, that sand is an evidence of plenty water around. But this benefit has a string attached to it as well. There is always the possibility of a hole collapsing during drilling when the drilling reaches a sandy layer. However, that did not happen in this case.

And this drilling method allows the team to install the hand pump cylinder far below the aquifer. Which means that the community will have a very good access to plenty water in this particular well. The team suspended the cylinder to two feet above the bottom of the well for fear of debris and other materials reaching the pump.

Screening
4" casing pipes are laid out to the requisite depth of the well. The casing pipes are the screened, that is, the pipes are given slight slices to make a passage for water. The pipe is then wrapped with empty rice bags all in the bid to help filter any debris.

This screened pipe is slotted into casing pipes and is lowered into the well. About 5 buckets of sand mixed with small stones, called filter packs, are poured in between the two casings. A chain hoist is set up to pull out the temporary casing, leaving the 4' pipe at the bottom of the well.

Iron rod support
This process requires that iron rod is cemented to the well lining and attached to the casing to support the weight of the PVC and keep it straight from the bottom of the well to the top of the pump base. They weld a collar into the pump base to help support the casing.

Bailing and Yield testing
The hand bailing system requires two people to bail by hand. The well is bailed for three days. The well is then yield tested by installing an electrical submersible pump to the depth of the well and is pumped for about an hour. They continue pumping for another hour while measuring the amount of water pumped out. They were relieved after the yield test. After passing the yield test, a sanitary seal is placed in the borehole to about three feet from the surface with cement to keep it clean.

Padding
This involves constructing a cement wall round the well and constructing a drainage system for the control of unwanted water around the well area. This process takes three days to complete.

Installation
A quality stainless steel India MK2 hand-pump is then installed. The pump's cylinder is installed to a depth similar to that of the yield test.

Dedication
The dedication is all about handing the water well facility over to the school for which it was provided. The ceremony was well organized and coordinated. The community people were arraigned to the well area and all the kids were asked to surround the tap whilst the other category of people stays around the well.

A cross-section of the office staff went to organize a ceremony where community members were given final instructions about the benefit of safe drinking water and proper care of the pump.

"Honestly this well will help to save lives," Mr. Micheal Ndanema said.

"Before now we had to send people to the swamp to help with water even during delivery in this clinic. Imagine a patient being treated for typhoid and goes back to fetch water from a typhoid-infested source. So my brother this water well will save lives, to put it simply.”

April, 2018: Yongoroo Community, New Life Clinic Project Underway

A severe clean water shortage at New Life Clinic drains people's time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

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