Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Port Loko, Sierra Leone WaSH Program

Impact: 200 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Dec 2022

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 02/22/2024

Project Features


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Many of the 200 community members in Karma rely on palm oil production for their livelihoods. Processing palm oil takes significant amounts of water, but without a reliable source of water, individuals in this community struggle to thrive.

The only reliable source of water currently is the local swamp. But it is overcrowded, and those consuming its water must deal with the consequences of drinking contaminated water.

The only other alternative is the community well that is not functioning and is in need of rehabilitation.

"The water situation in the community is affecting the work at home as well as the processing of my palm oil," said 30-year-old farmer Emma Bangura shown below collecting water from the swamp. "I need five containers of water, which is equivalent to one hundred liters, just to boil the palm kernel. After boiling the palm kernel, four hundred liters of water are needed to do the washing. This really makes me utilize a lot of water."

"Most times, I would pay some of the youth to help me because I would not be able to do all the trips at the stream alone," said Emma. "This extra expenditure is really affecting my income."

The children in Karma are also feeling the pressure of the water crisis each and every day.

"Honestly, the water situation in this community is really affecting me. The distance to the stream is too far," said 12-year-old Sinnah K. "Fetching water for cooking and drinking is exceedingly difficult."

Sinnah told our field officer that in order to collect water, she walks along the edge of the swamp, lets the water settle, and fills her container with a cup. Because it takes so long to collect water, she often delays the task until after school, but by that time, she is tired and hungry, making it even more challenging.

"That is why I suffer a lot at home because I must fetch [a] large quantity of water for the family every day. By the time I complete fetching water, I would be very tired to even study," concluded Sinnah.

With access to water eased for everyone in Karma, people will be able to focus more on important tasks like improving their incomes and doing well in school.

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


December, 2022: Karma Community Well Rehabilitation Complete!

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

"Today, I am so excited beyond belief to have the well restored back," said 30-year-old Emma Bangura. "I am so thankful for you to bring safe and pure water [to] this community. The new water point will help me to save more money. Before, I usually paid youths to fetch water for me to boil the palm kernel, cooking, and [do] any other activities. I missed a lot of customers that came to my house to buy drinks. But [now] with the available water point that is [a] few steps to my home, [I can] make more sales on time and earn more money to support my family

Emma.

"Today, I am happy to have safe and pure drinking water in this community after so many years [of] drinking stream water. I will now fetch water on time for my mother to prepare meals for us, and the new well will reduce the chance of snake bites, and I will not be going to school late. [That] will be a thing of the past. Our lives will be improved due to access to safe and pure drinking water," said 12-year-old Sinnah K.

We held a dedication ceremony to officially hand over the well to the community members.

"Upon our arrival at the dedication ground, we met the community people singing and dancing for the new water point. Over 100 community people, both women, children, and as well as men, spread [around] the water point celebrating," said field officer Moses Kebbie.

Several local dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Ministry of Water Resources and 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, Emma and Sinnah 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 18 meters with water at eight 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.

Proper use of mosquito nets.

"I was part of the hygiene and sanitation training, and the most important lesson learned in the hygiene training is handwashing. And another memorable lesson I learned from [this] is proper care and handling of unprepared food. With the availability of safe and pure water, this can now be achievable, and many diseases will be reduced from the community," said Emma, quoted earlier.

Learning about tippy tap handwashing stations.

An elderly man in attendance at the training Pa Abu, said, “Now I understand that we were not practicing proper handwashing. The reason for saying this is because most of the time when we worked at the farm, we normally washed our hands in one basin before eating. Just imagine a lot of people washing their hands in the same bowl. Some of us cannot even tell where those hands come from. Someone may come from the toilet and keep his or her hands in the bowl without our knowledge. This is very bad because the water would be contaminated.

"As a result, the transmission of diseases is likely to occur, such as typhoid and diarrhea. Then just after washing our hands, we all sit and eat as a family. This would be disastrous for our health. We were totally ignorant about this in time past. But due to the intervention of trainers, we have learned this important aspect, is that not so?"

The other participants gave a resounding yes!

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!




October, 2022: Karma Community Well Rehabilitation Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Karma 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!


A Year Later: Excited for Safe Drinking Water!

December, 2023

A year ago, your generous donation helped the Karma Community in Sierra Leone access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Salay. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Karma Community 3.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Karma Community 3 maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

Salay T., 11, recalled what life was like in the Karma Community before her community's well was rehabilitated last year.

"Before this time, when safe drinking water was not available in this village, we, the pupils of this village, had to struggle a lot to fetch water from the swamp. This issue has been affecting us for so many years. The road to our school is about two miles off our village. By the time we returned from the swamp and got prepared for school, we were already late," Salay shared.

Collecting water is now less arduous for Salay and the other community members of Karma Community.

"The availability of this water point has helped improve our lives because we don't have to go to the swamp to fetch water in the morning, which was the main reason for us going to school late," she continued.

Having ready access to water from the well has made a difference for Salay, allowing her to quickly collect the water she needs and get to school on time.

"We're so excited to have safe drinking water in this village because we now go to school on time," Salay concluded.


Right now, there are others in neighboring communities that desperately need safe water access. Your support will immediately go to work to provide a clean water project - and we can't wait to introduce you to the next person you'll help.


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Karma Community 3 maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Karma Community 3 – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.


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