Mapeh Community 3

The main problem in Mapeh is that the number of people continues to grow as the water supply dwindles.

At one end of the mile-long village is a functioning, protected borehole well rehabilitated in 2017. But at the other end is an aging hand-dug well constructed more than 30 years ago. The older well yields less and less water with each dry season. This sends everyone to the borehole, which translates to long queues of people waiting for water at all hours.

The ones affected the most are schoolgoing children, who are often late to class because they cannot fetch water for their families on time, and women food vendors, who cannot prepare wares to sell early enough to meet the demand. Everyone gets up as early as they can, and still, they find a crowd waiting for them at the village's only working well.

"If there was sufficient water in my village, I would not struggle as much as I do now," said 13-year-old student, Neneh K (in the righthand photo). "We stand in line with all the arguments and since we live at the end of the village that has the hand pump that dries, we are told to use our pump, which is not fair since we all live in the same village."

For now, the borehole well that the community relies on shows no sign of seasonal drying. However, the constant use puts a great deal of strain on the well's hardware, which will continue to break and cost the community money unless an alternative source of water is provided.

Because well water is such a precious commodity, people still need to make their way to the swamp to fetch water for bathing and laundering clothes, which exposes water fetchers (usually women and children) to jungle predators like snakes.

Emma Dumbuya, 50 (in the left photo), won't risk sending her children to fetch water for her for this reason. "I have children big enough to fetch water for me from the swamp, but the near-miss incident I had with snakes totally discourages me from sending any of them. I prefer making the trip myself and not risking the lives of any of my children."

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

February, 2023: Mapeh Community Well Rehabilitation Complete!

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

"It was very challenging to access water in this community, especially during the dry season. The dry season was a difficult moment in my life because [the] pump used to dry, and there was a great challenge in getting enough water to be used. The water I had from the swamp was not clean, and this made it hard for me to get good drinking water," said 50-year-old farmer Emma Dumbuya.

Emma giving her speech.

"Today is a great day in my life because this pump is now producing enough water, and it is safe and pure to drink and do other activities," Emma said.

Abdulai (in white shirt) splashes water.

"It is good that I am seeing this pump providing clean water. I can no longer get tired after fetching water, but I will have time to read my school notes at night before going to bed. The water is clean, and it is good to drink," said 14-year-old Abdulai K.

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 Port Loko District Council and the Ministry of Water Resources. 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, Emma and Abdulai made statements on their community's behalf. The ceremony concluded with celebration, singing, and dancing.

Community celebration.

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 20 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 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.

Bailing.

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 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.

Participants discuss topics during the training.

The most memorable topic from the training was proper dental hygiene. One participant said he had never brushed his teeth with toothpaste and a toothbrush because there is no time for him to do so before rushing to his farm each morning. But after learning the negative health effects, he promised to start and that he will pass on the message he received during the training to the community members that did not attend the training.

N'Mah Dumbuya.

"This training was valuable to me because it has created more impact on my life, and the new knowledge I have received from this hygiene and sanitation training is to drink pure and reliable water in order to save my life and the life of my community people and to eat a variety of fresh foods," said 45-year-old N'Mah Dumbuya.

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!

December, 2022: Mapeh Community Well Rehabilitation Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Mapeh 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!

Mapeh Community 3

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