Project Status



Project Type:  Well Rehab

Program: Water for Sierra Leone

Impact: 200 Served

Project Phase:  Decommissioned

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project was implemented by another partner, but is now monitored and maintained by The Water Project together with Mariatu's Hope.

When the Sierra Leone team arrived, in the dry season the well dries up and there was no pump. The casing and lining were not in good conditions. Therefore the Sierra Leone team repaired the lining and casing and put in a concrete pump base and installed a new hand pump. There were 200 residents who had been forced to depend on an open well located half of a kilometer away from the community to meet all of their water needs. Because of this and the community’s practice of open defecation, families were suffering from dysentery, malaria, typhoid, diarrhea and severe dehydration among other preventable water related illnesses. During the team’s stay, community members assembled a water committee consisting of five men and five women who assisted the team with the water project whenever possible, provided food and guarded the team’s equipment during the night. Most residents farm, fish or produce salt to earn a living and a few teach at the nearby school. There is a school located two kilometers away from the community whose students, teachers and administrative personnel all now have access to a safe water source.

The Sierra Leone team had an opportunity to meet with forty-eight year old community member and petty trader, Marian Sesay, who stated, "The Old water source is an open well, they use rope and rubber to get water, the source is much better or easy for us, because we are pumping instead of drawing water from the well, and it makes things simple for our children."

It is a very hard working community people are working in producing Palm Oil, Salt and Fishing. Since this is a new WASH committee set up at this well, no money had been collected. The committee has been instructed that they will need to impose a fee for water so when the pump has problems they can repair it themselves.

Project Updates


May, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Lungi, Cassava Farm

Our teams are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us in our fight against the virus while maintaining access to clean, reliable water.

We are carrying out awareness and prevention trainings on the virus in every community we serve. Very often, our teams are the first (and only) to bring news and information of the virus to rural communities like Lungi, Sierra Leone

We trained people on the symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention of COVID-19.

With distancing and/or small groups: Due to public gathering concerns, we worked with trusted community leaders to gather a select group of community members who would then relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

We began training communities before the first reported case of COVID-19 in the country and before the government enacted public health guidance related to it. We worked with trusted community leaders and Water User Committees to gather community members for the training. Although community members did not observe social distancing during the training, we sensitized them on its importance and effectiveness in combating the spread of the virus.

We covered essential hygiene lessons:

- Demonstrations on how to build a simple handwashing station

- Proper handwashing technique

- The importance of using soap and clean water for handwashing

- Cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces including at the water point.

We covered COVID-19-specific guidance in line with national and international standards:

- Information on the symptoms and transmission routes of COVID-19

- What social distancing is and how to practice it

- How to cough into an elbow

- Alternative ways to greet people without handshakes, fist bumps, etc.

- How to make and properly wear a facemask.

During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s water point.

Due to the rampant spread of misinformation about COVID-19, we also dedicated time to a question and answer session to help debunk rumors about the disease and provide extra information where needed.

We continue to stay in touch with this community as the pandemic progresses. We want to ensure their water point remains functional and their community stays informed about the virus.

Water access, sanitation, and hygiene are at the crux of disease prevention. You can directly support our work on the frontlines of COVID-19 prevention in all of the communities we serve while maintaining their access to safe, clean, and reliable water.




Project Photos


Project Type

Well rehabilitation is one of the most cost effective ways to bring clean, safe water to a community.  Sometimes it involves fixing a broken hand pump, other times it means sealing a hand dug well to prevent it from being contaminated.  These repairs, and often time total replacements, coupled with sanitation and hygiene training make a huge impact in communities.


"The Old water source is an open well, they use rope and rubber to get water, the source is much better or easy for us, because we are pumping instead of drawing water from the well, and it makes things simple for our children."

Marian S. - Petty Trader

Contributors

Project Sponsor - Northwest Hills United Methodist Church