May, 2022: Santiguiya Community Well Rehabilitation Complete!

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

"I am happy because of the way our pump has become now," said 13-year-old Isha S. "I used to wake up early in the morning to fetch water, sweep, and warm food and eat before going to school. It was not easy to fetch water at the stream when the pump was not providing enough water. I am now happy because the pump water is now in good working order to provide enough water."

Isha drinks water at the pump.

"Before this time, water was a crisis in this community," said 23-year-old farmer, Foday Sillah. "I struggled [a] lot to access good water to drink, especially when the pump gets dry. I [was] left with no choice but to fetch water from the stream. This really put my life at risk because I [was] exposed to [a] lot of water sicknesses."

Foday collects water at the pump.

"Life without good water is nothing," Foday continued. "That is why my family and I depended on the stream every day. I am happy because the pump is now good and safe to provide enough water for us in this community. I am personally grateful for this, and I am now safe from drinking filthy water."

Mr. Abu Bakarr Bangura from the Port Loko District Council at the well with Foday.

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members. Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including a representative from the Port Loko District Council. Each official gave a short speech thanking everyone who contributed to the rehabilitation of the water project and reminding everyone to take good care of it. Then, Isha and Foday made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Clean Water Restored

The drill team arrived the day before beginning work. They set up camp and unpacked all their tools and supplies to prepare for drilling the next day. The community provided space for the team to store their belongings and 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 drilling tool. 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 17 meters with water at 11 meters. The hand-drill method allowed the team to install the cylinder far below the aquifer so that the community has excellent 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.

Yield test.

As the project neared completion, we built a new 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 be uncomfortable and 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 called and visited the local water user committee to 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.

Training topics covered included handwashing and tippy taps, good and bad hygiene habits, disease transmission and prevention, COVID-19, 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 diarrhea doll illustrates what happens to the body when experiencing severe diarrhea.

The topic that interested Santiguiya's people the most was the topic of diarrhea and Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). ORS is used in cases of severe diarrhea to safely replenish the body's levels of sodium and glucose to sustainable levels and can be made at home with a simple solution of salt, sugar, and clean water. One woman expressed interest in this concept because her son died due to severe diarrhea. She lamented that she had salt and sugar at home, and had she known of ORS back then she may have been able to save him.

Another enlightening issue was the topic of eating a balanced diet, which is illustrated with the image of a three-legged stool, with each leg of the stool representing an important food group. Without any of the legs, the stool cannot stand.

The facilitator presents the three-legged stool representing a balanced diet.

A few people said that they had always been taught not to eat certain fruits and vegetables like papaya, squash, mangoes, and others because traditional beliefs state they can cause undesirable outcomes caused by witchcraft. One of the community elders spoke up, saying that he had eaten those things all his life and had never been adversely affected by them. He advised everyone to listen to the training over traditional beliefs.

Handwashing with a tippy-tap.

"This training was valuable to me because I have learned things that I have not known before," said 21-year-old trader, Mafereh Mansaray. "Mostly like taking care around my environment, the importance of having and using a latrine. Initially, I was not practicing good hand washing because of [a] lack of water and soap. But now, I will practice [a] good handwashing technique by using a tippy-tap. I will continue with the act of handwashing daily."

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!

March, 2022: Santiguiya Community Well Rehab Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in the Santiguiya Community 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 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!