February, 2022: St. Augustine Primary School Gate Well Rehab Complete!

We are excited to share a safe, reliable water point at Tintafor 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.

"The newly rehabilitated water source is very helpful to me because I can fetch enough water to drink," said 46-year-old Lauretta Thompson, a petty trader. "This water source is very important to me because I need enough water to keep my business clean at the time of processing [items] for sale. I must be happy this day for receiving good drinking water. I believe that I am safe from sickness when I drink from this well because it is protected from contamination."

Lauretta, center, in the orange shirt, pours water from the well.

"I am getting access to enough water to drink, cook, bathe, and clean my house. I have enough time to do my business or other important activities after fetching water from this well," Lauretta continued. "To practice proper hygiene requires enough water and at [a] regular time. This well will be available anytime I need water to do proper hygiene at my house."

"This water well is going to bring good health by preventing us from getting sicknesses," said 16-year-old Alhaji. "[The water] is clean and good to drink. I believe that in [a] healthy life, I can do many things at my house and school. For this reason, this water well is a help to my life and future."

Alhaji at the well.

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 Port Loko District Council, the Ministry for Water Resources, and the Ward Council. Reverend Paul Turay also came to bless the well's opening and pray with the people gathered. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project. Then, Lauretta and Alhaji made statements on their community's behalf.

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 24 meters with water at 14 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 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!

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. On each of the training's three days, there were representatives from all households in the community, which is an excellent turnout.

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 training was valuable to me because I learned the various methods in dealing with the COVID-19 virus, like sneezing into the elbow, maintaining physical distance, and the avoidance of handshaking," said 25-year-old Michael Mattia. "The safest means is sneezing into the elbow and the wearing of facemasks, which we really enforced during the hygiene and sanitation training by making sure all participants put them on."

One particularly enlightening topic was water handling, which the participants recognized they needed improvement on. In one of the hygiene example posters, it shows a woman sweeping her floor next to an open bucket of drinking water on the ground. When the facilitator asked how the woman could improve her situation, everyone answered that she should put the bucket up on her table and cover it so the dust and dirt won't contaminate the water. It was a clear indicator that the participants had been listening and understanding.

Monica Samuels, 73, the pump's new caretaker, said she learned a lot. "During the training, we learned from each other that our latrines need to be clean. Moreover, in this period of rains, we should be more careful about leaving our latrines uncovered and dirty because of cholera and other related sickness."

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!

December, 2021: St. Augustine Secondary School Gate Well Rehab Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at St. Augustine Secondary School drains 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 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!