Conclusion of Sare Demba Mballo Well Repair Project – Senegal

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Nathan Danielsen. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

This project was to fix several wells that were in disrepair, unsafe, and providing unclean drinking water in the community.

Nathan reports:

I’m proud to announce the completion of the Sare Demba Mballo Well Repair Project. Three wells have been repaired as a result.

This has been one of the easiest projects to complete during my three years of service in Senegal. All the funding was used to purchase materials. The community provided the transportation of materials and the labor to gather the materials to fix the wells.

Additionally, they raised money among themselves to pay for a qualified mason to repair the well. This is truly a project they wanted but just needed a little push and encouragement to get the ball rolling.

I recall that during my first months in the village my counterpart Diallo Mballo commented on the poor condition of one of the community wells. At that early point in my service, I was too new in the village to understand if it was a priority in the village. Also, I was too intimidated by the process of applying for funding.

Sometime after that, I remember there was quite a bit of commotion in the village because a child had fallen into the well. My counterpart had climbed in immediately to save his daughter. It was a scary moment. Luckily she was only bruised and scared. When my Peace Corps friends told about how Appropriate Projects works, I applied for it within weeks.

Nathan reports on the results and gratitude of the community:

Now everyone in the village talks about how pretty that well looks and how good the water tastes. They also know that their little children won’t easily fall into it and other wells in the village.

Thanks, everyone for helping out! You’ve probably saved a child’s life.

We again wish to thank Manuel Aguirre, on behalf of Natalie D. Camastra, with the help of friends of Nathan Danielsen for providing the funds for this project.