February, 2022: Masoila Gateway Baptist Church and Primary School Well Rehabilitation Complete!

We are excited to share a safe, reliable water point at Masoila Gateway Baptist Church and Primary School in Sierra Leone is now 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.

Happy for clean water!

"I no longer have to wait to get water for the school. The containers are filled every morning and in the afternoon. The school is always clean and smells better when there is water. I cannot imagine what we would have done without water at our school," said teacher Alex Kamara, 48.

Teacher Alex Kamara collecting water.

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members. The ceremony was attended by several local dignitaries from the Ministry of Basic Education, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ward Council office. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project. Then, Alex and Henrietta made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Henrietta (with the megaphone) gave her speech.

Henrietta K., 10, said, "I am going to bring a water bottle to school that I will fill with water before the start of school every morning. That way I can drink while in the classroom. The goal I hope to achieve since the water point has been completed is to get better scores on my report card. I am also going to wash my hands with soap after using the latrine."

Students celebrating!

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 community provided space for the team to store their belongings, along with meals for the duration of their stay. The following day, the work began.

First, we raised the tripod, the structure we use to hold and maneuver each of the drilling tools. Next, we measured the well's original depth. We then socketed the pipes and installed a casing.

Finally, we lined up the drill rods and started to drill! We reached a final depth of 21 meters with water at 12 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.

With drilling complete, we installed screening and a filter pack to keep out debris when the water is pumped. We then cemented an iron rod to the well lining and fixed it with an iron collar at the top. Next, we bailed the well by hand for three days and flushed it, clearing any debris generated by the drilling process. Finally, we tested the yield to ensure the well would provide clean water with minimal effort at the pump.

As the project neared completion, we built a cement platform, walls, and drainage system around the well to seal it off from surface-level contaminants. The drainage system helps to redirect runoff and spilled water to help avoid standing water at the well, which can not only be uncomfortable but unhygienic and a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

At last, we installed the stainless steel India Mk11 pump and conducted a water quality test. The test results showed that this is clean water fit for drinking!

Field Officer Mohammed Turay commented, "The best feeling is when I see the smiles on the faces of people when they finally have safe and sustainable access to water. The singing voices of children reminded me of my primary school days in a Catholic school. The songs are still the same. I wish I had a clean and safe water source when I was growing up. A lot of illnesses probably could have been avoided."

New Knowledge

Before conducting any hygiene training, we made repeated phone calls and visits to the local water user committee to better understand the community’s challenges and lack of sanitation facilities. We shared the findings from our discussions with the committee members to help them make the necessary adjustments before the training began. For example, we identified households without handwashing stations or ones that may need to repair their latrines. With this information, community members worked together to improve hygiene and sanitation at home.

After this preparatory period, we scheduled a time when members from each household using the water point could attend a multi-day hygiene and sanitation training. We then dispatched our teams to the agreed-upon location to hold the meeting.

Trainers Rose Ngekia, Isatu Sesay, and Kadiatu Kamara performed the training for 427 participants, which included students, teachers, community-based leaders, government officials, and area political leaders. One of the school's classrooms was used as the training venue for the teachers and invited guests. Once the teachers mastered the information, they visited the other classrooms to train the students.

Learning proper dental hygiene.

Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps, good and bad hygiene habits, disease transmission and prevention, worms and parasites, dental hygiene, proper care of the well's pump, keeping the water clean, the cost recovery system, dish racks and clotheslines, the importance of toilets, keeping latrines clean, balanced diets, the diarrhea doll, and HIV and AIDS.

The session using a prop called the diarrhea doll was the most memorable topic during the training for both teachers and students. The training session was interactive as teachers gave their different views about the causes of diarrhea and its cure. Some teachers claimed that diarrhea can be caused by eating too much mango, pepper, or vegetable oil.

Diarrhea doll session.

They asked many questions and wanted to know the difference between diarrhea and cholera. The adults readily mentioned traditional food items such as gari (ground cassava), raw cassava, guava leaves, and pepper leaves that are used to attempt to cure diarrhea without much success. One teacher, Mrs. Memunatu Solomon, was the only teacher who stated that ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) was her first option whenever she or her children have diarrhea. By the end of the session, everyone learned how to prepare an ORS solution to use as a remedy.

Learning about disease transmission.

Head teacher Hassan Koroma, 46, said, "This hygiene and sanitation training is really of great importance to me because it deals mainly with the proper care of self and environment. Through this training, I learned about things that will be of great help to me both at school and at home most especially the local preparation of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) using salt, sugar, and clean water. So I will make sure to practice all the essential knowledge I have gained during this training in order to achieve a healthy life and environment."

When an issue arises concerning the well, community members are equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure the water point works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact our field officers to assist them. Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our ongoing monitoring and maintenance program.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

January, 2022: Masoila Gateway Baptist Church and Primary School Well Rehabilitation Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Masoila Gateway Baptist Church and Primary School drains people’s and students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this community and school 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!