Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 251 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/22/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

Report Submitted by
Philip James Allieu, Report Writer

As our field officers walked through the bustling Tintafor Police Barracks community, they saw lines of frustrated people at both wells that still provide water. The lines run outside the well gates and into the street. Containers were lined up at the base of the pump to mark people's places in the ever-present queues. Many children walked away with empty buckets because they'd rather wait and be scolded by their parents than try to fight for their spot in line with an elder to whom they should show respect.

"My children help me to fetch water after school, but they stay long at the water well because people bully them from fetching water at their own time of arrival in sequence at the water well," said Koya Sesay, a local trader (in the below picture). "It is really a frustrating condition we are living in this community. We need more water wells in this community to reduce our struggles."

This community is still growing, too. There are 251 people living here, made up of police officers and their families. All the space that could be used within the community has been claimed. Wherever they can plant a few seeds, community members grow their own food, but they can't grow their own water.

This community once had three wells, but one stopped functioning over ten years ago and another draws contaminated water that can't be used for drinking without boiling. This leaves them with only one fully functioning well—and now, even that one has begun to dry seasonally.

"It is not easy to fetch water from the water wells,said 15-year-old Victor B (in the photo on the left). "I wait [a] long [time] at the water well before I could get a way to fetch water."

Victor went on to say that when he tries to fetch water before going to school, sometimes he'll have to give up so as not to be late. This means he won't be able to bathe or have anything to drink before leaving.

"The water wells are open precisely in the morning hours and later in the evening," Victor explained. "The limited time is not enough to provide water for everyone. My mother wait[s] for me to bring water at the house before she could start cooking. It is delaying sometimes."

All these factors have made people desperate for water. They were so excited to give all the necessary data needed to implement the project and are hoping to see its success.

"[The borehole well] will serve as a means of giving life back to the community, because water is life," said Philip, one of our field officers. "Think of a dried-out flower that miraculously comes back to life with a drop of water. That is this community."

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 that will 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 both 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.

These trainings 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.

Project Updates


March, 2023: Tintafor Community Well Rehabilitation Complete!

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

"Before, we suffered for water in the community," said 14-year-old Alusine A. "We used to go to the wharf to fetch water for cooking, to launder our clothes, and bathing. This water source was far away from our home, but today we are happy for this new water point that has solved our water constraints. The new water point will enhance my health greatly because the water is clean and pure for drinking, unlike other sources which are highly contaminated."

Alusine.

"Now that this water project is here, I am so happy for the project," said 33-year-old trader N'koya Sesay. "At first, I used to suffer for water, and even other community people experienced the same. Therefore, I see the new water point as a blessing because it has reduced all the water challenges I suffered from. I will no longer need to walk far distances because the new water point is closer to my house. It will no longer be a burden for me because water is now at my doorstep."

N'koya Sesay giving her speech.

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members. Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Port Loko District Council, and the Ward Councilor. 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, Alusine and N'koya made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Celebrating!

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 24 meters with water at 18 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 pump and conducted a water quality test. The test results showed that this was 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 three-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.

"I am incredibly happy to be a part of this training that is of great significance to me. Through this training, I have learned so much about personal and environmental hygiene. Before, I was never aware that we get diarrhea, dysentery, worms, and even typhoid from eating contaminated foods and water. Therefore, I am pleading with everyone who witnessed this training to practice exactly what the hygiene facilitators taught us, because it is for our own welfare," said N'koya, quoted earlier.

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members themselves. 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 their local field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.

With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In our target areas, we’re working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!

Thank you for making all of this possible!




January, 2023: Tintafor Community Well Rehabilitation Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Tintafor 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!




Project Photos


Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


Contributors

13 individual donor(s)