It's been over a year since the well at Evans Medical Center in Kirma worked. Since then, the nurses and surrounding community members have been forced to collect water from a nearby stream across a busy road.
This situation hurts not only the patients of the center, who sometimes cannot be treated properly, but also the nurses, who spend a good portion of each day running to and from the stream to collect unsafe water that then needs to be boiled.
"During the time the well at the health facility was functioning, it was better," said 34-year-old nurse Isatu Mansaray (shown above carrying water). "It was not a problem because the water was available. From the time the well [became] faulty until now, it has greatly affected the running of the health facility. I am not an exception to this suffering because I am unable to execute my job well. Even having enough water for the use of the clinic is difficult. I tell you the truth: I find it hard to do my work well because of the present water situation here."
"The unit in the health facility that suffers the most is the labor room," explained our field officer, Julius Sesay. "Water is highly needed in this area from labor to delivery. Unfortunately for the nurses, they will not be able to fetch water during delivery cases because they will be busy. This makes them suffer because water will not be available to wash the instruments they used in the labor room. Even washing their hands after [a] delivery will be hard. This can be risky because diseases can easily be transmitted through that."
Not only is it difficult to make so many trips to the stream, but the stream itself doesn't yield a lot of water - especially not for a health center that serves nine villages and about 70 patients per day.
"The water I fetch from that source will not even fill two jerrycans," Isatu said. "As a result, the water will not be enough to even clean the maternity ward, let alone the instruments. Fetching water for drinking is also a daunting task because the water from the alternate source easily becomes dirty. The color alone from the water makes you feel discouraged to use it for drinking. Most times, I would buy bundles of water so that I will be able to drink. Apart from that, I will not have any choice but to use [the stream's] water for drinking."
And it was not only the clinic staff who used the now-broken well. The people living in the surrounding area are also negatively impacted by its closure.
"Now that the water point is no longer functioning, I have been fetching water from the stream," said ten-year-old Fatmata B., shown above crossing the busy road on her way home from the stream. "It is hard to fetch water from this source because of the distance. It is hard to do a lot of trips. Also, I find it hard to cross the highway unless I wait patiently for the vehicles and bikes to pass. I was nearly hit by a motorbike when crossing the road. It is risky for me to cross this road due to my age."
"This situation affects me, especially when I will be having a lot of water containers to fetch," Fatmata continued. "I will only be able to fill some of my water containers. This disturbs me, especially when I need water to perform my work at home before heading to school. The water I had fetched will not even be enough to do the necessary work at home."
To help with the water shortage, the nurses sometimes commission water from a local water vendor, but the prices are expensive, the deliveries are often delayed, and each delivery is only a temporary reprieve from the continuous cycle of water scarcity.
"This is very expensive to do because the quantity of water they need is immense," said Julius. "Even after paying [for] water, they must wait for days before their request is granted. Meanwhile, they will not be able to administer certain drugs to patients, such as Panadol, Artemether Lumefantrine, Sudrex, and Oral Rehydration Salts. Since water is not available, these drugs cannot be given orally."
"I will be happy if the well in this healthy facility has been rehabilitated," Isatu concluded. "This will not only be beneficial to me but to the other medical personnel and the patients as well. Even the District Health Management Team in Port Loko will be happy with this since the water point will help to save lives."
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.
