Basse Cote Forage Project – Guinea

This project is made possible through the partnership of WATER CHARITY and the NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION.

This project has been completed.  To read about the conclusion, CLICK HERE.

Location

Guingan Center, Guingan, Koundara, Boke Region, Guinea

Community Description
Guingan is a town and sub-prefecture in the Koundara Prefecture in the Boké Region of northern Guinea, near the border of Senegal, with a population size of over 15,000 people. Guingan Center has over 800 people with surrounding villages.

Guingan has a dry climate with two seasons, the rainy season and dry season. The community is a developing area with simple thatched-roof houses and local places of worship for religious services.

A local market is held every week where people from other villages come and buy goods/services from local people in Guingan and other vendors.

Guingan is a melancholy community, with kind individuals with welcoming hearts and gentle spirits.

Problem Addressed
Three drilled wells were installed in 2005. Over the course of the years, the forages have experienced problems in functioning properly. Three water committees already established in the village have repaired the forages in the past with community donations, but they are again in need of repair.

Project Description
This project is to repair the forages (drilled wells) in the village.

The Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) and a local teacher have conducted meetings with the Water Committees to analyze the problems and determine solutions for the water problems.

The work will be done by a local skilled technician.

Water Charity funds will be used to pay for labor and materials. The community will provide locally available materials and supplies, unskilled labor, and some funds.

Project Impact
800 people will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
DeVo’n Espinoza

Monitoring and Maintenance
The Water Committee will collect nominal amounts from the community according to use, and make those funds available when needed for maintenance and repairs.

This project has been funded by an anonymous donor.

Conclusion of Basse Cote Forage Project – Guinea

 

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer DeVo’n Espinoza. To read about the start of the project, CLICK HERE.

The project was designed to repair three pumps in the village.

DeVo’n reports:

The Basse Cote Forage project has been completed.

Once the community received the funds from Water Charity, the community came together to have a meeting to decide how the funds should be allocated.

The community, along with the volunteer, drafted a plan to complete the repairs for the forage.

The community then bought the needed materials and pieces necessary to complete the project. These included fences, stakes, tools, pedals, and other parts.

The repairs that were done were replacing the water tubing for the two pumps, along with installing new foot pedals and segment piece for the water pump. The work was done by a local technician who lives in Guingan, and the process took one month.

While the pumps were being repaired, the community began implementing a finance strategy to collect funds for maintenance and future repairs.

The repair of the pumps means that the community now has an ample supply of safe water from three functioning locations. The community and I are very thankful for the financial contribution.

We extend our thanks to DeVo’n for completing this important project.