This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Kellen Eilerts. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to build a covered, cement-lined well at the school to provide continuous access to drinking water.
Kellen reports:
We have completed the Dioulafondu school well project. The final result is a 10-meter cement-lined well on the school grounds.
A basin and hand pump are still to come, thanks to the second round of contributions from the village.
After an initial set-back of hitting an impassable rock at around 8 meters down, we relocated the well and restarted thanks to an increased contribution from the village. The new well was dug without encountering any problems.
We later learned that the well-digger was not able to construct the well walls with the molds that were available. This required us to find another mason, who eventually ended up doing three-quarters of the molds before deciding to return to his hometown and stop working after receiving the final cash advance.
We then spent several months going through the necessary steps of applying pressure with the chef du village (and eventually the police) and completed all the molds. It was then the heart of the rainy season, and we had to wait several months until the water level went down before lowering and attaching the remaining molds.
Kellen expressed his thanks, and that of the community, teachers, and students. We in turn wish to thank Kellen for completing this difficult project, and again express our gratitude to The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust for providing the funding.
