Borope was a rural town in the past but has grown rapidly over the past few years. Most buildings here are built of mud blocks and plastered with cement. There are some with brick blocks, but they are very few. Borope is the location of the big market that happens once a week. People from all over the region come to sell their goods. As a result of people coming and going, this town has become a transportation center to other rural areas, either by motorbikes or old vehicles.
The main water point for the 472 people here is a well located at Main Motor Road junction. It is a hand-dug well built in the 1980s. It lasted for many years, but it is unable to keep up with the growing population. The protected water source is overcrowded and is not properly taken care of, found our field officers. There is dirt lying all over the well. This is due to the large number of people coming to this water source each day.
The pressure on the well causes it to run dry because it is not deep enough. People then have to wait for the well to recharge with water - making the already long fetching water even longer. Many will return to the nearest swamp because it is faster, and there are no lines. However, the swamp's open water is contaminated, making it unsafe for drinking.
"School-going kids cannot go to school on time because of the overcrowding at this well. When this well is down, the only alternate water source is the swamp or stream, which is kilometers away from here,” said Town Headman Dauda Bangura.
Bai is a young man we met during our visit to the community. He told us that since he is the oldest child in his family, fetching water falls on him. Bai and his siblings are often late for school because it takes so long to get water each day.
Here’s what we’re going to do about it:
Well Rehabilitation
The well marked for this overhaul is dry for a few months every year and needs major work to supply adequate, clean water to the community year-round. The pump will be removed, and a hand auger will be lowered inside and powered by a drill team. This hand auger will allow the team to drill several meters deeper to hit a sufficient water column to ensure the well supplies water throughout all seasons.
As the team drills, casing will be installed, transforming the bottom of this hand-dug well into a 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 quality and quantity, even through the dry months.
Hygiene and Sanitation Training
There will be hygiene and sanitation training sessions offered for three days in a row.
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 handwashing demonstrations and will also teach about other tools like dish racks and the importance of properly penning in animals.
This training will also strengthen the water user committee that manages and maintains this well. They enforce proper behavior and report to us whenever they need our help solving a serious problem, like a pump breakdown.
