For over ten years now, the well in Gbaneh Bana has not yielded any water. Since then, the 110 community members jostle for a place in line when the mosque opens up its well.
"During that time, a lot of people will be at the water point," explained our field officer, Julius. "Therefore, some of the water users would not be able to fetch water from this source because of the crowd. Due to the competition at the mosque, most community members would not be able to get the required amount of water they need. Due to this reason, most of their household work is not done on time, such as cooking and laundering."
"The water situation in this community is not easy for me," said 23-year-old food trader Kadiatu Kamara (shown to the left). "The reason being, we have no functional well in this community now. The main source we used to fetch water from is no longer working. [For] over ten years now, we have been struggling to fetch water. One of the things that pains me the most is that I would not be able to get water at the time I need it."
"The mosque, which should be our alternate source is restricted from us," Kadiatu continued. "The Muslims and other people in the mosque would not allow us to fetch water. The mosque is only meant for them, and this is very bad. For me to be able to fetch water, I [must] plead with them. They open and close whenever they like. This is really affecting the food that I sell for my livelihood, more especially during the dry season. I need a lot of water to prepare the food that I normally sell, such as rice and other things."
Community members' only other option for water is a protected hand-dug well that they must cross a busy highway to access. However, this well, too, is in high demand, being shared with another community. In Kadiatu's eyes, fetching water here isn't any better than fighting for water at the mosque.
"Fetching water from that source is also challenging for me," Kadiatu explained (she's shown above fetching water from this alternate source). "The people in that community would delay me to fetch water on time unless they are through. There are times I would rather go to the stream to fetch water."
15-year-old student Emma (pictured below) uses this second well as her first choice every morning, but that doesn't mean waiting for her turn (while growing later for school with each passing moment) is easy.
"The people in that community are very difficult," Emma said. "They would not allow me to fetch water until they are through. Even when they eventually allow me to fetch water, I would not be able [to] fetch the required [amount] of water that I need because of the pressure at the pump. There are times I would not be fortunate [enough] to fetch water from this source because of favorites. [The pump caretakers] would allow the people in that community to fetch water first. Even those that met me at the water point would fetch water before me. Thus, on most occasions, I would go to the stream to fetch water."
The community members' last resort, the stream, is taxing to fetch water from, and consuming its water is risky. And the stream itself now disappears during drought seasons because so many people have resorted to fetching water there.
"Fetching water for cooking and drinking is very difficult because the water in the stream becomes dirty," Kadiatu said. "It is very hard to fetch water because you must use a bowl and fill gallons of containers. This is really time-consuming. The water gets limited at this source. Therefore, I find it very hard to get the amount of water I need."
"Now that I am a lactating mother, I need enough water to take care of myself and my child. More water is needed to wash the baby’s diapers, clothes, and things I use as a mother. I often fail in some of these responsibilities, mainly because of the water constraints."
"Most times, I go to school late," Emma said. "After school, I have to go fetch water to launder my uniform. I must go to the well across the street to fetch water. It could be very challenging to fetch water from this source in the evening hours because a lot of people would be there. I must wait patiently for my turn. By the time I fetch water from the well, it would be late for me to launder my school uniform. This situation makes my uniform not get dry. I end up wearing a damp uniform to school."
During rainy seasons, Kadiatu is able to collect rainwater from her roof. But the rainwater only stretches so far. "The only time water constraints would minimize for me is during the rainy season," Kadiatu said. "I fetch water from the zinc (roof) of our house. This water would serve me for some time. But it would not last for a long time because of the persistent usage. Then the whole problem of fetching water starts again. That is why I would be very grateful if we could have a functional well in this community. Having this well repaired would prevent us from [the] unnecessary suffering we used to undergo."
The people of Gbaneh Bana need a water source of their own so that they are no longer at anyone else's mercy for their households' everyday needs.
The Proposed Solution, Determined Together...
At The Water Project, everyone has a part in conversations and solutions. We operate in transparency, believing it benefits everyone. We expect reliability from one another as well as our water solutions. Everyone involved makes this possible through hard work and dedication.
In a joint discovery process, community members determine their most advantageous water solution alongside our technical experts. Read more specifics about this solution on the What We're Building tab of this project page. Then, community members lend their support by collecting needed construction materials (sometimes for months ahead of time!), providing labor alongside our artisans, sheltering and feeding the builders, and supplying additional resources.
Water Access for Everyone
This water project is one piece in a large puzzle. In Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, we’re working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources that guarantee public access now and in the future within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. One day, we hope to report that this has been achieved!
Training on Health, Hygiene & More
With the community’s input, we've identified topics where training will increase positive health outcomes at personal, household, and community levels. We’ll coordinate with them to find the best training date. Some examples of what we train communities on are:
- Improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits
- Safe water handling, storage & treatment
- Disease prevention and proper handwashing
- Income-generation
- Community leadership, governance, & election of a water committee
- Operation and maintenance of the water point
