Zezira II Well Renewal – South Sudan

This project is made possible through the partnership of Water Charity and the National Peace Corps  Association, working with Water is Basic.

The Zezira II Community Well Rehabilitation has been COMPLETED!  To read the #Conclusion Report and watch the video scroll down below.

This is Project 10 of Phase 2 of our South Sudan Well Rehab Program. Phase 1 of the program began with the Tore region, which became the center of a new wave of violence.  These Phase 2 projects are being done along the Yei River, of Yei State. We continue with multiple well rehabs in Yei County where many are displaced from the last two years of violence in the Unity and Jonglei States.

Location
Zezira II, Yei River County, Yei State, South Sudan

Community Description
With hands drenched in mud, a group of young Zezira II residents shape one brick, and then another. The community is large, the largest and most diverse in the county, with 2,000 residents having come together from multiple local tribes and wandering from war-waged displacement. During the dry season, the sight of many people elbow-deep in mud is a common sight. This is the community’s only economic addition to their typical dependence on a produce-agriculture livelihood.

A few families are lucky enough to own a shop, acting as the central point in trading, and the only hope in economic expansion. These families are able to own homes with iron roofs, the few between the many grass-thatched roofs that line the streets of Zezira II, a town a half-mile outside the main city of Yei Town.

Problem Addressed
While the borehole has served the community well since it was first drilled in 1982, the overuse of 30+ years has caused the well to turn from a gushing relief to a trickling disaster.  Many women in the area, are responsible for water collection, and fight amongst each other as tensions grow daily amidst hours and hours of waiting in line.

Many families cannot afford to have their wives and mothers traveling long distances to clean boreholes, so the women are forced, instead, to use the nearby river for water collection. However, the waterborne illnesses, contracted from the contaminated, low water, are exponential and cause up to 40% of children to pass away before they even reach their fifth year.

Lona Poniis is one of the many women suffering from having to trek to the river outside of the village for water, for herself and her six children. As a member of the borehole committee, Lona experiences the daily problems of the borehole’s lack of pressure.  For 38 years she has grown up with the borehole, in the community.  Nowadays, though, she is forced to wake up at five in the morning to make it back and forth enough times with water to provide bathing and drinking water for every family member, throughout the day.  Despite being 38-years-old, Lona has been getting sick from the lack of sleep and the morning dew soaking her body and feet, keeping her wet and cold all day long.  Her greatest fear is being bitten by a snake or taken by a crocodile in the river where she gathers her water from.

Project Description
This project will be in collaboration with Water is Basic, a locally owned and operated water drilling company. Over the last 8 years, Water is Basic has been a reliable company in South Sudan, drilling and rehabilitating since 2008. This project should only take 1-2 days to complete.

The Water is Basic crew will take the pump apart and remove all the pipes The well will be deepened and the 8 pipes replaced as necessary, and the pump will be repaired.

Problem Impact
This project will provide water for all 2,000 residents.

Project Manager
Steve Roese

Monitoring & Maintenance
The Zezira II community is proud of its 5-member borehole committee. They are focused on monitoring water usage and cleanliness standards to ensure the borehole’s sustainability. As a typical lifespan of a borehole is 25 years old, the community has gone above and beyond to ensure this borehole has impacted the community as long as it could. The committee and community are dedicated to repeating the longevity of the borehole once it is repaired.

Comments
Quelling fear for their lives and the health of their families, every woman in the community will be empowered with a sense of security and assurance that they will be able to provide clean water for their families daily.

While not an official Let Girls Learn project, it is in keeping with the goals and objectives of that program, and, as such, falls under Water Charity’s own Let Girls Learn + heading.  Since it provides benefits to displaced persons, we have also added our Refugee tag.

This project has been paid for by an anonymous donor.  If you wish to see more great projects like this one, please contribute to our South Sudan Well Rehab Program by clicking on the Donate button below.

Zezira II Well Repair – South Sudan – YouTube

Zezira II Well Renewal Conclusion – South Sudan

We are proud to say that this well in Zezira II village has been returned to full working order, and is now serving one of the most populated villages in the Yei region.  Furthermore, the village water use committee has been formed and will help to ensure that this borehole and pump (as well as all the others in the area) will be maintained and kept functional.

Location
Zezira, Yei River County, Yei State, South Sudan

GPS: N 04’04.866 E 030’43.300

Community Description
Buried amongst the streets of Zezira is the neighborhood Zezira II. The community suffered a solemn three months while the well was in disrepair.

Problems Addressed
With a working borehole, the community can save their money while they spend a mere 5ssp a month for an entire family’s supply of water. However, when the well is in disrepair, many families’ funds go to medical bills and private, over-priced borehole water.

Project Description
The Water is Basic team took three hours to fix the pump cylinder and several rusted pipes. After the repair, the team worked with the local committee in charge of the borehole on water usage, sanitation principles, and financial organization, with hopes to provide a platform for the community to sustain the borehole themselves.

Project Impact
Mary is the chairperson of the community’s borehole committee. Her husband is a businessman who is very proud of his wife’s accomplishments. Not only is she delighted to lead her community with a working borehole, but she is also one of the many women relieved from the excessive time it has taken to find water on a regular basis.

Jackline is a resident in the area of Zezira II and an owner of a retail shop with her family. She has suffered lately from the lack of water. Dehydration has made it hard to run the business, but the rising price of other necessary food items has forced Jackline and her family to cut down in other areas. With a clean water source available once again, Jackline is confident her business will thrive once more.