Sierra Leone Projects Update, October 2008
Earlier this year, we updated the film of our projects in Sierra Leone -- if you haven't seen it, please have a look now at: www.youtube.com
WTN has just returned from another successful visit to our projects in the south east of the country, and this is the update of how we are progressing.
Having survived the ride from the airport to the city, in the infamous ancient helicopter, we spent a night in Freetown before setting off for Bo the following morning, the second city of Sierra Leone. The journey of 200 km still takes most of the day, as it is a dirt road in many sections, which has deteriorated since our last visit, because of the heavy rains they have had this year. However, as soon as the rains have finally stopped, progress will be made on rebuilding the road, so this will make a vast improvement to this vital infrastructure route between the capital and the second city.
On our way, we stopped off in the community of Waterloo, to inspect a market site in the town, where we plan to build a community ecosan toilet. At present, visitors to the market are using pit latrines, but these are completely inadequate for the number of people coming to the market, and there is a real risk of contaminating the high water table. This is still in the planning stage, but we hope to go ahead with this project early in 2009.
After staying in Bo overnight, the first village we visited was Gbongay, where we initially started our projects in Sierra Leone over two years ago. To recap, all of the ecosan toilets have been completed in the village, and each of them is being maintained and cleaned by people who live in that area of the community.
The two water pumps are functioning well, one of which has large storage tanks for use in the dry season, the toilets are well used and a second large rainwater harvesting tank is almost complete. These facilities have truly transformed the lives of the people in the village, particularly the health of young children, with none dying from intestinal disease from contaminated water or non-existent sanitation since they have been in use. The best result possible!
But the main purpose of our visit to Gbongay this time, was for the official opening of the new primary school in the village. This has been beautifully constructed, with three separate airy classrooms for the children, which are fully equipped with desks and chairs that came from the UK earlier this year. Along with Nancy the headteacher (who never stopped smiling all day!), there are two paid assistants, and two other volunteer teachers – to help provide an income to support them, the plan is to develop a vegetable garden for the school, which can be maintained by the children and teachers, and any surplus produce can be sold to raise funding for the two volunteers. Before the opening, the “elephant devil” (a man dressed in an elaborate elephant costume) had to be warded off by four young men from the village – and of course he had to be appeased, with money! It is interesting to see how these ancient beliefs are still very relevant in the community today, and are a critical part of the process of making sure that the new building is blessed for the children.
After leaving Gbongay, we travelled to Pujehun, the regional capital of the area, to visit Holy Rosary Secondary School for Girls. Most of the 450+ girls are day pupils, but there are about 25 who are boarders, as they come from villages too far away to commute. Their accommodation is very basic, with sanitation facilities which can only be described as awful – they have no privacy, and no washing facilities.
We plan to build an ecosan toilet and bathing complex, which will be large enough not just for the needs of the boarders, but also the day girls. The design will be adapted, so they will all have a porcelain washing area as an integral part of each unit. Josephine, the head teacher, and all the girls were delighted by this news!
Considering how poorly equipped the school is, we were particularly impressed and moved by the dedication of the teachers, and the determination and ambition of the children – we plan to link the school with another in the UK, to give them support with text books and equipment, which would transform their learning experience.
Another possible project at the school would be the development of their market garden – the school compound has a lot of land, some of which is already used for growing crops, including pineapples, mangoes, papaya and bananas, but there is real potential for developing this further, to provide food for the school with any surplus being sold to raise funds.
The following day, we continued our visit to other villages in Pejeh chiefdom, the first being Helabu. All the wells and pumps are now in use around the village, and half the ecosan toilets are completed, with the second half to be finished within the next few months.
We visited the beehives, which are located in the forest just outside of the village – this livelihood program is proving to be a great success, with many of the villagers increasing the number of hives they have (which are all being made in the carpentry workshop in Gbongay). The honey produced is being sold at a local market, but we are going to research the possibility of selling a larger quantity to a company in the UK – the total quantity produced between all the villages this year, looks like it could be more than 3 tonnes, which is a fantastic result! This will potentially provide an excellent cash crop for the benefit of the whole community.
Our next stop was to the small village of Lein – this was to drop off some school equipment for the tiny village school, who are trying to cope with the 110 children of the village, which represents almost 50% of the population. Again, a huge amount is being achieved with minimal facilities, and of course there was a request for a new school, like the one that they were all aware of in Gbongay! As we have done in other communities, a well has been dug, and we will be starting in early 2009 to construct ecosan toilets.
Onward, to the village of Koiva – the tractor and trailer which was shipped with the school equipment from the UK earlier this year, is being put to good use transporting sand and materials to the village, for the construction of roof tiles for the ecosan toilets – these are yet to be built, but will be completed within the next few months. All the wells and pumps around the village are now working, and the water is sweet!
Apart from saving on transport costs into the area, the group of young men using the tractor and trailer have also been able to develop a livelihood, by constructing the concrete tiles on site. We also plan to import two compressed earth block (CEB) making machines from Kenya, which will provide another livelihood opportunity for people in the community, and will also further save on material and shipping costs, as the blocks will be made on site in each village.
As we travel through the villages, we get many requests for new schools, for clinics, for livelihood opportunities. Hopefully, these developments will be possible in the future, but our primary focus is to establish effective sanitation and clean water in all the villages first.
All in all, progress is going well with constructing ecosan toilets, providing water and livelihood opportunities through the villages of the chiefdom – the process can sometimes be slow in this environment, but as experience and expertise is developed in the communities, the work becomes more efficient as the projects are developed from village to village. It is truly inspiring to see and experience the difference that providing these fundamentals of life can have on the health, well-being and development of the people in these communities, and the ambition and drive they have to make their lives better.
Click here for updates of our work in Sierra Leone
• May 2006
• October 2008