COMPLETED: Borehole and hand pump for Farma Section, Joe Town, Sierra Leone (PN: 0030)

The situation:

Joe Town is a small community in the Lower Bambara Chiefdom in western area rural district. The community counts about 900 people whom are mainly engaged in smallhold swamp farming.

The water table in the community is far below depths that private individuals can dig, so people rely on fetching water from the stream, which dries out during the dry season. Whenever it rains, all dirt in the community ends up in the water, bringing contaminants to it. Additionally, humans use the stream to bathe and launder. During these activities, the contaminated wastewater drains back into the source.

W4W is establishing a total of 4 wells across the various sections of Joe Town, to supply the inhabitants with a clean water alternative. One of these sections, Farma Section, is home to 200 people.

The solution:

For 550$ Walking for Water has donated a hand drilled borehole and a closed well with a SL handpump made from locally available materials by W4W’s Sierra Leonean partner ESSL, whom have drilled more than 400 wells of the type with success. The population of Farma Section, counting 200 people, now have a clean water well available for public use. The project was completed in June 2021.