Rehabilitation Project
This project was implemented by another partner, but is now monitored and maintained by The Water Project together with Mariatu's Hope.
A Sierra Leone team member commented, "Although the well is located adjacent to a Catholic church, most of the community members who came to the hygiene sensitization were Muslim, so the Christian prayer we did seemed rather subdued. However, after the prayer, one man, in a wheelchair, Sorie Kamara, spoke up, and shared some details about his life. He said that he was born into a Muslim family, but that at a young age, some Catholic missionaries had helped him through school, and so at the age of 20, he decided to convert to Christianity. He went on to say that from that time, he felt that the difficulties in life had been reduced and that his family gives thanks to Jesus for his good deeds."
When the team arrived, community members were utilizing a protected hand dug well located half of a kilometer away from the community to meet all of their water needs. Because of this, families were suffering from typhoid and malaria. The Sierra Leone team was pleased to learn of the community’s use of a pour flush toilet as this will help prevent further spread of disease in the area. During the team’s stay, community members assembled a water committee consisting of six men and two women who assisted the team with the water project whenever possible and guarded the team’s equipment during the night. Most community members work as civil servants, petty traders, and small scale farmers or teach at the nearby school. Before leaving the community, the team provided community member, Bikish Mansaray, with a contact number in case their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.
The Sierra Leone team had an opportunity to meet with thirty-three year old community member and petty trader, Mamayia Kamara, who stated, "The well pump was broken, so we used a rope and bucket to fetch water. Also the water was not pure, so we had to boil it before drinking. Now the water is pure, it tastes fresh."
During the hygiene education, the Sierra Leone team addresses: Hand washing, how to properly transport and store water, disease transmission and prevention, how to maintain proper care of the pump, as well as signs and symptoms of dehydration and how to make Oral Rehydration Solution. All of these lessons are taught in a participatory method to help community members discover ways to improve their hygiene and sanitation choices, and implement community driven solutions.
