Sierra Leone Projects Update, April 2009
WTN has just returned from another successful visit to our projects in the south-east of Sierra Leone, and this is the update of how we are progressing.
I initially spent two days in Freetown, attending meetings with a number of organisations to gain support for our funding applications to extend the work we have achieved in Pejeh, to the neighbouring chiefdom of Barri. This development is only possible because of the impact and recognition that the success of the projects in Pejeh have created with DFID, UNICEF, VSO and other NGOs.
After travelling to Bo, on the new road now almost completed, we made our first courtesy call to the Paramount Chief in Futa. All the boreholes/wells are now completed in the 19 villages of the Chiefdom; so much of the work recently, in Futa and all the villages, has been focussed on completing Rainwater Harvesting tanks (RWH), to get them ready before the imminent rains. These will provide a vital back-up water supply to the wells, particularly in the dry season when many of the rivers and streams are dry. RWH is a great example of very simple technology that conserves valuable water resources that would otherwise be wasted, with low construction and maintenance costs.
From Futa, we travelled to Buma, where three Ecosan toilets and the RWH are nearing completion; as always, we were given an ecstatic welcome! These facilities, that we take so much for granted, have transformed their lives. In Koiva, we joined a village meeting where we received enthusiastic and positive feedback about the livelihood programme; the bee-keeping is proving to be a great success. The villagers have increased the number of hives (which are all being made in the carpentry workshop in Gbongay). The honey is being sold at a local market, as well as providing a valuable nutritional supplement to their diet. The total quantity produced between all the villages this year, could be more than 3 tonnes, which will provide an excellent cash crop for the benefit of the whole community.
In Massa, we met to discuss the development of the new Cassava and Groundnut farming livelihood; the ground has been prepared, and the seed bought for planting. This livelihood is being offered to the villages that haven’t already benefited from bee-keeping, so that every community will have a livelihood opportunity.
In Gbongay, all of the RWH and ecosan toilets have been completed in the village, and the two water pumps are functioning well, one of which has large storage tanks for use in the dry season. On land next to the river, where there is a ready supply of clay, a stockpile of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) is being made, for use in the construction of ecosan. CEBs are also being made in Koiva and Helabu (6000 in each village), in preparation for constructing primary schools, which will be to the same design as the school in Gbongay; these CEBs should be finished by the end of June, ready for construction to start at the end of the rainy season in the autumn.
In the village of Lein, where we visited the children last October, there is also an urgent need for a school building; the community are very willing to make the CEBs needed for construction, if the funding could be made available.
A very positive development that has grown directly out of the experience gained in Pejeh, is the skill to construct larger community ecosan complexes. One of these will be built at Holy Rosary School for Girls in Pujehun, the regional capital. Most of the 500 girls are day pupils, but there are about 15 who are boarders. Their accommodation is very basic, with no privacy or 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 as well. We were particularly impressed and moved by the dedication of Josephine the head teacher, and her staff, and the determination and ambition of the children. We are looking at supporting them further with school equipment and a market garden.
Another community ecosan project soon to be constructed will be at Waterloo market; this is located on the main road to Bo, just outside of Freetown. Although this will be built by a local contractor from Freetown, the support and advice gained from constructing ecosan in Pejeh, will ensure the success of the project.
All in all, progress is going well with constructing ecosan toilets, providing water, RWH 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. We are on target to complete all 19 villages of Pejeh Chiefdom by early 2010. 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
• April 2009