Conclusion of Liakom Protected Spring Project – Cameroon

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Stephen Cormier.

To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

The project was to rebuild a spring catchment.

Stephen reports:

The project was a smashing success. We (the community and local NGO) set out to use the funding provided by Water Charity to complete a protected spring catchment in order to give approximately 350 people access to safe drinking water. We accomplished everything we planned to do!

During the initial discussions with the community as to how best to complete this project the Mbororo herders decided to begin carrying sand to the site using their horses. It took about a day of work to transport the sand, as the horses were easily tired due to the long distance and steep terrain. This truly expedited the project because once we broke ground we already had the materials at the site.

As the community is quite small, with no bricklayers and not many manual laborers, it was decided to some hire some workers. To collect stones, we offered a ‘dash’ (a small gift in the sum of money) to a few young boys who helped us.

We were very fortunate that the spring itself was not too large, making excavation relatively easy. This allowed us to complete the work and also build a basin using some remaining cement.

This corner of Liakom is now incredibly excited to have safe and clean drinking water.

We are grateful to Stephen for completing this project as a part of a planned effort to provide a reliable water source for the community.