Rehabilitation Project
EBOLA'S IMPACT
As you know, Ebola has been a tragic reality for the people of Sierra Leone over the last year. In the middle of this, we've remained more committed than ever to the people of Sierra Leone through a service and support program that focuses on keeping water flowing at approximately 100 previously installed projects. And, as you know, we’re also providing new water access for communities- made possible because of your support. Our teams have been brave and selfless - and we are so proud of them.
Very recently, Ebola has made a resurgence in our area of operation. Our team was providing service to a previously installed water point at a large regional hospital, and returned the next morning to find the entire area under quarantine. Unfortunately, this meant that many of our tools were also under quarantine. This, along with restoring some water points post-quarantine has led to reasonable delays in our program. We are very happy, after some delays, to bring this successful report to you.
We are in weekly contact with our team in Sierra Leone, and everyone is safe. The entire team continues to express their gratitude for your support of communities in Sierra Leone, and we can’t wait to celebrate safe water together!
BACKGROUND:
The area of Thombo Lol is a huge farming area. This is how the majority of people earn their living. Through an EU grant the Ministry of Agriculture built this Kaffu Bullom Agriculture Center and dug this hand dug well. The well was constructed in April of 2010. The community people said that they also contributed money to the Ministry of Agriculture towards the digging of this well.
The agriculture center is a busy place during harvesting time. There are machines for the members to mill rice and grind cassava. Members bring some of their vegetables there to sell to others. Children work alongside their parents, as this will be their future.
PRE-WELL REHABILITATION:
A Constitution for Water and Sanitation Committee was formed using members of the community. This will ensure that the well and the hand pump are maintained. The constitution outlines the responsibilities of the community in order to maintain order and good hygiene. Prior to beginning the well rehabilitation, the Ministry of Water Resources gave their approval for the rehabilitation of this well. A baseline survey and community water, sanitation and hygiene survey were completed.
Data from the baseline survey is still being compiled but initially shows that most of the members of the community have latrines, although there is still some open defecation. Most have a dish rack. Most households have a handwashing area. Most have a clothesline and most have clean water containers. The members of the community state they fetch their water from the stream when the pump is broken down. This well is nearly dry and has been down for the past year. Some of the sicknesses the community has seen are typhoid, malaria, diarrhea and dysentery. There are more children in this community than adults. The total population is 358: children 192; adults 166.
WELL REHABILITATION TECHNICAL:
The initial total depth of the well was 53.2 feet and the well was dry. Four new casing were made and allowed to cure. The casing was installed into the well and were sunk over a period of a week. Upon completion, the total depth of the well was 62 feet with a static level of 55.
The masoners came in and constructed a security wall to the height of five courses which was plastered. The well technicians installed a new India Mark II hand pump. The pump was installed on 7/29/2015. The community was so happy and excited about having the well back in working order. They are very grateful to The Water Project for their timely intervention.
HYGIENE TRAINING:
We use a Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Training (PHAST) model. We coordinated our hygiene training using volunteers from Partners In Health because they had been trained on giving the key Ebola message.
The hygine training took place on the 18th of August. There were 27 adults and 8 children who attended the training. The participants all lived in the community which was on the same side of the road as the Agricultural Centre. They were excited about the training. The training began with both Christian and Muslim prayer. Sierra Leone is a very religiously-tolerant country. Everyone gets on well with each other. It's really a beautiful depiction of the heart of the Father.
The community discussed the challenges of poor hygiene in their community which ranged from lack of readily available safe drinking water to feeling like they were an impoverished community lacking other facilities. Our trainer encouraged them to use the water well for their drinking and washing water.
The importance of good hygiene was discussed then pictures were shown to the group which encouraged discussions around good and bad hygiene. There was one child in the group who was very vocal about the need for good hygiene and how if you don't have your health you don't have anything. Words of wisdom from the young. We did a lesson called disease transmission stories, which spurred a good discussion. The pictures come in sets and the participants had to decide which picture came first and then tell the story about what was happening in that community.
One story told about a boy who was practicing open defecation. Afterward, a chicken came by and stepped in what he had left behind. The chicken then went and stepped on the rice in the kitchen area which was left uncovered. The food was served to the family and their guests and then everyone began grumbling that their bellies ached and that they had diarrhea. The community stated that this happens in their community.
We talked about ways to prevent this from happening such as using a latrine, building one if you don't have one, penning up the chickens and other animals, and covering your food and raising it up off the ground when preparing it. We also discussed how to keep your water safe and clean.
Prior to the training, as we drove through the community rallying people to come and listen, we saw clothes laying on the ground drying after being washed. The community discussed the effects of this kind of behavior stating that you get scratch scratch or scabies and rashes because the ground is not clean. People were encouraged to dry their cloths on the clothsline or make bambo stands to dry on.
There was a good discussion around handwashing and when hands should be washed. People said that having water readily available was a problem. We showed them a solution that they really loved. We explained the tippy tap and they loved the idea. The community expressed a desire for further hygiene training to learn how to construct their own tippy taps. Our hygiene team returned to the community on Friday, 25 August and met with twenty-two community members to make tippy taps. The training began with both Christian and Muslim prayer. We thanked the community for their interest in further training and commended them for reaching out to better equip themselves against disease transmission in their community.
The community came with their own containers and a piece of soap and we provided the other materials needed. It was hands on and the participants worked in pairs. They were very excited to do this project and said that they now wanted to show some of the other community members how to make their own. They thanked Mariatu's Hope and The Water Project for their investment into the community.
The participants were engaged and participated and asked and answered questions. It was a really great group. They expressed their thanks at the end of the training and asked if we could come another time to work to develop the community more. We agreed to do this.
INTERVIEWS:
We interviewed a cross section of the community with a male, female and youth being interviewed.
Alusine Turay: Male, 46 years old, Chairman of the Agricultural Center
I am gladdy (very happy) 100%! I am happy to get clean water more and better than before. Thank you!
Yandora Kamara: Female, 60 years old, Gardner
I gladdy too much for this water well work. This well will help to prevent sickness. I'm thankful. I tell you plenty, plenty tenke. (Gladdy means very happy and tenke is thank you in Krio.)
Alimamy M. Conteh: Male, 30 years old, Student at Sierra Leone Organizational Industrial Center (SLOIC) studying electrical work
As a representative for the youth, I'm very, very happy about this development. Thank you!!
EVANGELISM:
Throughout our time with the members of this community, whether it is going in to do a baseline survey or just spending time to talk to them, the people are seeing our witness. They feel cared for because we've taken the time to come and assess their needs and ask them about what and how they are doing. We find that real life actions speak louder than our words, though the Gospel will be presented at the well dedication and we will work with Pastor Michael upon completion of the project for him to show the Jesus film.
CHALLENGES:
We had a bit of rain during the time of digging the well deeper and making the casing. We were able to work around it, but it did take longer. The country was under a State of Emergency so we had to be careful about how many people were helping with the project as there was a ban on public gatherings. There was also a very strict curfew, so we had to make sure that our team was finished working for the day and at their homes by 6:00pm. We were unable to show the Jesus film because of the State of Emergency and due to the rainy season, but we plan to return to the village to show it. Rather than showing it directly at the centre, we will go into the village closest to this water well to show the film. We are excited about that possibility. Getting people to come to the dedication and training was a bit difficult because people were busy with their gardens planting. At the time of the hygiene training they were harvesting their ground nut and preparing for their second planting. Because of the conditions in the country due to Ebola, there are price hikes on food and we needed to be mindful and respectful of the community and allow them to do what they needed in order to be sure they have food. We are presently still awaiting the water quality testing hard copy report from the Ministry of Water Resources.
APPRECIATION:
The well dedication took place on the 31st of July. There was a small gathering of the community because we had to be careful about the ban on public gatherings. There was such joy present in that small group of people! They expressed their thanks and appreciation to both The Water Project and Mariatu's Hope. They said that they had struggled for so long with no safe drinking water and they really appreciate what has been done for them.
