February, 2021: St. Augustine Senior Secondary School Project Complete!

We are excited to share that there is a safe, reliable water point at St. Augustine Senior Secondary School in Sierra Leone that is already providing clean water to students and neighboring community members! We also conducted hygiene and sanitation training, which focused on healthy practices such as handwashing and using latrines.

"You can never tell the importance of the water well until it is not accessible. I cannot be any happier for the opportunity for this water point. The pump is new, and one of the most innovative things that I witnessed is the conversion of our hand-dug well into a borehole," said teacher Boima Moriba.

"My students no longer have to go outside of the gate to fetch water. Water can now be accessed all year round - a great improvement for us, the teachers, and students. The parents can also breathe a sigh of relief."

Clean Water Restored

The drill team arrived the day before beginning work. They set up camp and unpacked all of their tools and supplies to prepare for drilling the next day. The school provided space for them to store their belongings and meals for the duration of their stay. The next morning, the work began.

Here is how we restored clean, reliable water here:

- Raised the tripod

- Found the original depth

- Socketed the pipes

- Installed casing

- Lined up the drill rods

- Drilled!

We reached a final depth of 20 meters, with the water at 13 meters. The hand-drill method allowed the team to install the cylinder far below the aquifer so that the community has great water access throughout the year.

- Installed screening and filter pack

- Cemented an iron rod to the well lining and fixed it with an iron collar at the top

- Bailed the well by hand for three days and flushed it

- Tested the yield

- Built a cement platform, walls, and drainage system

- Installed a stainless steel India Mk11 pump

- Conducted a water quality test

The dedication ceremony was held on a Friday afternoon with a minimum number of students to comply with local safety guidelines. The staff made sure that all COVID-19 guidelines were observed. The teachers and Catholic priests were looking forward to the dedication ceremony, as was Fatmata Akai, the Councilor of that ward. The school's marching band was in full force that day, leading the celebration with their music.

The school staff was delighted to have a new pump serving clean and safe water. Not only is the water going to be beneficial for drinking, but it will also be used for the school's agricultural program. The students from each classroom drew pictures of pumps, trees, flowers, and fruits and vegetables which they held and hung up around the well during the celebration. The drawings were meant to show their agriculture involvement and how the water point will help improve their agriculture program.

The water that drops on the well pad throughout the day will be gathered at the end of each day, students explained. They will use this water on their plants around the school compound - a good example for not wasting water. All projects are designed to be sustainable and will benefit their intended communities for years to come.

"I speak on behalf of my fellow students when I say that the goal that I have now that this water point is complete is to have more time in the classroom and less time going outside to fetch water," shared Salamatu.

"I now have access to clean water. That will result in improved attendance, better grades, and more quiet time to study, knowing that there is clean water for me to drink."

New Knowledge

The water user committee at this gated school is made up of teachers and parish Priests. The school greatly depends on this well for their main source of water. A compound that restricts the movement of students to the outside during school hours. The training was mandatory for students as well as the teachers. Letters of invitation were sent out to the school leadership weeks ahead with the message also reaching students and teachers. The total involvement of teachers, staff, and students showed the coordination and importance of such training.

Our hygiene training was set for five days at the school. The teachers are the first to undergo a two days training at the school compound while they, in turn, train the students. The training for the teachers took place in a large classroom while observing Covid-19 guidelines. The students' training was held outdoors, reserved for morning devotions—a big spacious place with flowers of a different variety. The training was scheduled very early in the morning before the hot sun blared on students' and teachers' heads.

All student population was present except for the ones absent due to an illness or an excused absence. The high turnout was due to the staff's demand for all participants to gain some knowledge from the hygiene. Hygiene lessons learned in school could also be practiced at home by students and teachers.

Before conducting any hygiene training, we made repeated phone calls and visits to the local water user committee to understand better the community's challenges and lack of sanitation facilities. We brought the findings from our baseline survey to the committee's attention to help them make the necessary adjustments before the training or drilling could commence. When all the necessary guidelines were met, only then did our team of hygiene trainers go to conduct the training.

Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps; good and bad hygiene; disease transmission and prevention; worms and parasites; proper care of teeth; proper care of the pump; keeping the water clean; the cost recovery system; dish racks and clotheslines; the importance of toilets; keeping the latrine clean; balanced diets; the diarrhea doll; and HIV and AIDS.

The most memorable topic during the training was Disease Transmission Stories. Certain hygiene training topics always evoke a reaction, some with smiles, frowns, and giggles. Disease transmission stories are taught using posters of a boy doing open defecation and eating a banana without washing his hands.

The second most memorable topic was Healthy and Unhealthy Communities. Posters of two different communities depicting what is considered healthy and unhealthy. The posters and topics discussed are designed to evoke an action or response.

"Valuable lessons in hygiene and sanitation will help to improve our lives at home and at school. Either in school or at our various homes, any unsafe practice of hygiene and sanitation will translate to an increase in the transmission rate of any student or teacher," said student Alusine.

"We have been faced with the Cholera, Ebola, and now Coronavirus, and we have managed to survive. We survived because we took the guidelines seriously and have turned them into learning opportunities never to kill anybody in our communities."

Thank you for making all of this possible!

January, 2021: Lungi, Tintafor, St. Augustine Senior Secondary School Underway!

Students at St. Augustine Senior Secondary School do not have a reliable source for water. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point in the community and much more.

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