Rehabilitation Project
Upon completion of the project, our partner in the field reports...
Community Details
When the Living Water Sierra Leone team arrived in the 65-family community of Bramah Town, the community’s well was not in use. The team was informed that the well was dug a long time ago and had been broken for several years. To restore safe-water access in the community, the Living Water team cleared thick debris from the well, and when the team opened the well they noticed that the pipes were completely broken, which was the root cause of the minimal water flow. To start restoring the water source, the team developed the well 19 meters to locate a sufficient water source. The team used casing to support the re-developed well and replaced the following parts: pump head, pump handle, pump rod-sucker rods, rising main-drop pipe and cylinder. With the success of this well rehabilitation, the people will no longer drink the "poison" water that contributed to many productive educational and income-earning days lost and overall stifled community development. Not only had the community’s dependence on unsafe water prevented the people from developing their community and personal lives, but it also had caused much physical suffering. Typhoid, malaria, scabies, cholera and respiratory infections were common due to the consumption and use of dirty water and a lack of education in hygiene and sanitation. A regular occurrence of diarrhea outbreaks evoked great fear in the hearts of the people as "running stomach" was also a symptom of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Since adequate sanitation facilities are not available for two thirds of the inhabitants, the people knowingly—but with no other option, further compounded their health problems by practicing open defecation. Because of this, fecal matters eroded in the stream that the people were using and further contaminated the peoples sole water source while increasing the potential of spreading the Ebola virus. So far, a handful of people have died from contracting Ebola and there are 10 homes that have been quarantined, as each of them has lost one or two members to the EVD. The community leadership plans to institute strong bylaws in order to minimize the clustering of people, social gatherings, and not allowing strangers or visitors into their community without a valid reason for their visit. Just like the rest of the country, the community also experiences a high cost of living. This community, in particular, also experiences a high rate of environmental degradation that is evident through soil and vegetation loss. The safe water restored in Bramah Town will not only help the people, but will also support work being done supporting agricultural growth through a local program, Kwama Community Development Program (KCDP). The tolls that have been taken on the people residing in this primarily farming community, from the adverse effects of unsafe water, inaccessible hygiene facilities and the threat of Ebola, made their water situation seem hopeless. With the last of their remaining hope, community leaders sought help, to be freed from their water burdens, from the Living Water Sierra Leone team. The people asked for assistance restoring their water source, and because of the generous giving of The Water Project and their donors half a world away, Living Water was able to respond and provide the community with safe water!
Hygiene Promotion
The team, with support from community health workers, used the LWI Traditional Method, which is a participatory method to help community members discover ways to improve their hygiene and sanitation choices and implement community-driven solutions. Some of the lessons taught were: disease transmission, germs, good-bad hygiene behaviors, disease transmission stories, tippy tap, proper care of the pump and keeping the water clean. After the training, a 10-person community water committee (CWC) was formed and will help manage and maintain the well. Together, with the newly established community leadership, the committee has promised dedicate their tasks to ensuring that the well remains in working condition and is properly cared for so that it will be able to benefit their community for many years to come. To prove their commitment to this new well management task force, the CWC constructed tippy taps that will serve as communal hygienic facilities and also constructed a pit latrine with a slab that will be shared by a number of households.
Community Member Interview
"The old water source was like poison to us," shared 55-year-old community member, small-scale farmer and beneficiary, Otem Sorie Sesay. "The water was not only dirty, but was also heavily contaminated because it was an open water source. It was hazardous to our lives. The water from the new well is very clean, tasteless, safe and we will use it. We are now boasting about having access to good water!"
Christian Witness
It is through the provision of safe water that Living Water International is able to enter thirsty communities with the gospel message of Jesus Christ. In the Muslim-practicing community of Bramah Town, the provision of safe water, in the name of Jesus, was also delivered to the entire community, but specifically to 95 people (20 men, 40 women and 35 children) who gathered during the week for hygiene and sanitation lessons and who watched the Living Water Sierra Leone team restore their well. As part of proclaiming the gospel, a total of 56 Bibles were distributed to the community, which gives them an opportunity to read and understand the Word of God on their own. The local church, Our Lady of Catholic Church, also worked alongside the Living Water team to help share the Good News. Through this partnership, Living Water will continue working with the local church to encourage the people to be rooted in their faith in God, and help grow the church congregation. The church will continue to hold evangelist programs such as rallies and sharing the JESUS film, which will further equip church leaders to openly share the gospel with receptive ears through oral Bible story telling and Scripture. Evidence of the Living God was also observed among Christians and Muslims alike, at the well dedication ceremony. The Living Water evangelist recounted the visible work of the Lord’s movement in this spiritually thirsty community. "A child, who had been sick for three days of an unknown ailment, suddenly recovered." Thanks was given to the Lord and new doors were opened through the provision of safe water and this child’s recovery to the soul-saving, "living water" of Jesus Christ.
