COMPLETED: Borehole and hand pump for Mahun Section, Mayo Village, Sierra Leone (PN: 0046)

The situation:

Mayo village is located in the western area rural District of Freetown Sierra Leone that is headed by section chiefs in the two sections of the community which are Yawehun section and Mahun section. The most common livelihoods are farming, hunting, and burning charcoal. The majority of farmers are also master hunters that know how to study the tracks left by animals of all kinds. The animals they hunt, using dogs, traps, and guns, include deer, porcupines, monkeys, squirrels, and other large rodents in the bushes.

The homes that have stood the test of time are made with mud blocks with no cement plastering. Unfortunately, the water crisis faced by the people here is getting worse every day. There are two main water points that the people here use, but one is completely dry, and the second is slowly drying up and is not safe for drinking purposes.

The children are up very early in the morning to ensure that the cleanest water is fetched before everyone else gets the chance to contaminate the source further. The water catchment is in poor shape, leaving it open to contaminants that cause waterborne diseases.

During our local partners’ visit to the community, they met with Mr. Abdulahi Kamara. He shared the story that his daughter became pregnant a year ago. When she went into labor, Abdulahi did not have enough money to get her to the clinic, so she had to give birth at home. With no reliable water source, he had to turn to the open swamp to have enough water for his daughter and grandchild. Fortunately, both are healthy, but the ordeal caused a lot of stress and put the mother and child at risk due to the lack of clean water access.

The solution:

For 550$ Hadsten Højskole 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. The population of Mahun Section, counting 270 people, now has a clean water well available for public use. The project was completed in July 2021.