This project has been completed under the direction of Emily Lundberg, PhD., Water Charity’s Country Director, and managed on the ground by Ebrima Marong, Program Manager. To read about the start of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was designed to dig a well and install a hand pump.
Emily reports:
The Farato Njobo water project has been completed successfully. Through the hard work of the community, and with credit to the contractor, we are happy to report that the community now has ample clean water thanks to Water Charity and Working Water Gambia.
A 1.5-meter-wide well was hand-dug using pickaxes, spades, and a pulley. Water was struck at a depth of 31 meters after dry digging. The workers lined the well with concrete culverts. An extra 4 meters of wet digging completed the well, and the remainder was also lined with concrete culverts. This depth will allow for a greater volume of water. Again, at each meter of depth, concrete culverts were inserted down the walls of the well to solidify the walls for lasting durability.
Once complete, a concrete topping was poured, and a German Mark II hand pump was installed. Dewatering cleared out the sand particles and gave way to 4 meters of deep water flow. A concrete trough was built to provide enough space for animals to drink.
The community provided sand and gravel and also took part in all non-skilled labor. They also hosted and fed the workers.
The head of the village, Samba Jawo, expressed his happiness about the project and extends his sincere thanks and gratitude to Water Charity and Working Water Gambia. The head of the newly formed water committee, Mrs. Isatou Jallow, promised to work hard with her committee members to ensure that every household pays a token at the end of each month to be saved for future maintenance. She also promised that they will send their girls to school and those who are not in school will be enrolled in school. Prior to this project, girls were suffering; they were used mainly as water collectors, which causes severe disruption to their education, with some dropping out of school completely.
In conclusion, we thank the contractor and the entire community of Farato Njobo for their commitment and support for the successful completion of this project. We also want to thank the local youth mobilizer, Mr. Yorro Bah, for his efforts in making this project successful.
We extend our thanks to Emily and Ebrima for completing this important project.
