Conclusion Of Foni Jarrol District Rehab Tour Phase-3

West Coast Region, The Gambia

Foni Jarrol is one of the nine districts of The West Coast Region, which is located to the south of the Gambia River in the southwest of the country. Foni Jarrol is in the far east of the region, between Foni Bondali and the border with Senegal. The district is widely dominated by the Jola tribe and it is well known for its traditional cultural festival called ‘’Futampaf’’. This is a Jola traditional initiation ceremony which dates back centuries ago. According to oral history, the founders of Jarrol were the ancient Bainunka tribe.

The district, along with other districts bordering Southern Senegal, has played host to thousands of refugees fleeing the Southern Senegalese region of Casamance’s crisis which saw fighting between Senegalese forces and Cassamance separatist rebels. This has had serious difficulties both economic and social affecting the district, among which is the scarcity of clean drinking water. Environmental issues are still persistent due to illegal logging causing mass deforestation within the district.

OUTCOME

The third phase of this project has been successfully completed thanks to Water Charity and its local partner Working Water The Gambia (WWG). This is part of a series of projects launched under the Water for Everyone Initiative. The project mission was to improve water access and sanitation conditions across 5 villages in Foni Jarrol District by rehabilitating handpumps, installing new ones where necessary, and providing hand washing stations to improve sanitation and hygiene in the communities of AHDULAI VILLAGE, BRUMEN VILLAGE, JARROL VILLAGE, KALAGI VILLAGE and KOLLEY KUNDA VILLAGE. Thanks to the collaborative support of the villagers in all these villages, the project was completed successfully. This project provides access to clean water and sanitation to over 3,500 people

Ahdulai Village

  • The happiness is felt by all girls. They bear the brunt of water collection in communities
  • Happy times for the family because they now have clean drinking water in the community
  • Children enjoying the availability of clean drinking water in their community
  • The completion of the water project is a great deal of happiness for the community
  • Clean drinking water for everyone
  • It is good to see women fully participating in the effective hand washing training lessons. This helps to build the habit of hand washing
  • Sensitizing the community about the techniques of effective hand washing.
  • Work in progress
  • Water quality testing at the end of every water project is essential
  • 9 years old Jara Jobe pounds beans in a mortar after coming from water collection some miles away. She is not in school
  • Hincha and her children enjoying some groundnut. She no longer travels miles searching for water. Happy times with the kids
  • Now there is clean drinking water for the village. Olimata can go back to school and learn. The power of water in changing life for better
  • Severe water collection due to lack of water led to Jomma dropping out of school, as a result she got married at early age
  • Women can now have happy times for their families instead of travelling miles searching for water. They now have clean water in the community
  • Work in progress
  • Dismantling the old pump before installing new one
  • Millet harvest
  • This lady just got back from water collection in neighboring villages walking miles away feeling extremely tired
  • As usual in the day time houses are left empty in search of water from neighboring villages
  • Head of the village welcoming the workers as they start working on the water project
  • As the community suffers from acute water crisis. These boys go out searching for water in other villages miles away

ACTIVITIES 

The project saw the successful dewatering, re-digging of wells, installation of new German Mark 2 cylinders and conversion heads, stainless-steel pipes, rod couplings, check nuts, pedestals, axle and bearings. Concrete water troughs were built, new culverts for wells and concrete slabs. Handwashing stations were installed in all project intervention communities supplied with detergents. In partnership with The Gambia’s Department of Water Resources, quality testing and treatment was also conducted at the end of each community project. In each community, learning sessions were held on effective handwashing techniques and simple water management strategies. Communities also participated in manual works like digging, collecting sand and gravel. They also hosted workers, which assured that all materials were secured. 

Brumen Village

  • The happiness on their faces says it all
  • Head of the village testing the hand pump after completion of the project
  • Children look on as their father gets water for them
  • Head of the village exercising the effective clean hand washing technique
  • Naffie is happy to clean her hands after coming from the toilet. She is learning the habit of effective clean hand washing daily
  • Grandma making brrom from the leaves of palm tree while her grandkids look on
  • Water quality test result
  • Water sample collection for test at the Department of Water Resources central laboratory after completion of the water project
  • Mixing concrete
  • Removing all rusty and bad components
  • Removing the old cylinder
  • Dismantling the old and rusty pedestal hand pump
  • Youth of the community render their support in clearing the grass as the works proceed
  • Men at work

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT 

  • The primary objective of this project is to provide clean drinking water and better sanitation for the people of the selected 5 villages in Foni Jarrol District as for the third phase of the project. This has been successfully achieved at the completion of the project. 
  • The Foni region has long suffered from the lack of clean drinking water. The region has been hit hard with mass felling of trees and frequent bush fires. Also, the conflict between Senegalese forces and separatist rebels in the southern Senegalese region of Cassamance has made things worse for the region of Foni as it shares a long border with Cassamance. Mass movement of refugees from the recent clashes has worsened the water crisis for communities hosting the refugees. One of the objectives of the project is to ease the pressure of the lack of clean drinking water in communities, as well as provide sanitation. 
  • One of the objectives of this project is to provide clean drinking water for marginalized vulnerable communities. Foni has a lot of isolated villages that feel abandoned and forgotten. This project has made them feel heard, socially included, and a part of humanity. For villages that lie closely on the borderline, most of the times felt abandoned due to fear as they are closer to the frontline. 
  • The project also empowers women and girls. We all know the burden women and girls bear in water collection. Statistics has shown that Foni is one of the lowest female enrolment rates in school. This clean water project will empower girls participation in school. The time spent on water collection is far shorter now for school-going girls. 
  • Another important objective of this project is to inculcate the habit of hand washing in communities. At each of the rehabilitated water sources in each community, a hand washing station is provided with detergents and also a learning session on the techniques of effective hand washing. Members of the community gather in the village square for the learning sessions. This is a tool to combat the spread of germs and other communicable diseases that could spread within communities especially after using the toilets. It also aids nursing mothers as well as children to understand the importance of hygiene and sanitation. Participation in the learning sessions was high. Community engagement was immense and enthusiastic. 
  • In the Fonis, open defecation is not as big a concern as it is in the central regions of the country. Nonetheless, another key objective of these water projects is to facilitate round-the-clock household access to water. This will steer people away from going outside to defecate. The availability of water in the households is a catalyst towards the cessation of open defecation. 
  • Another objective of these projects is to encourage women’s engagement in household-level horticulture gardening. Every rehabilitated water source includes a concrete watering trough. The water trough traps waste water from the hand pump and can be used by nearby houses for small-scale household horticulture vegetable gardening. This avoids the wastage of water and allows households to grow vegetables and enables their livestock to drink. This helps provide the households with a balanced diet and thereby alleviates the extreme poverty communities’ face especially in the dry season. 
  • Another key objective of this project is to cut down the high rate of water related illnesses in the recipient communities. Children often face the brunt when it comes to waterborne diseases. Certain households are drained of all resources when a family is struck with waterborne diseases. These water projects will lessen the burden on communities and money that would otherwise be spent on doctors or medicine can be used for food or for girls’ education instead. 
  • Setting up and training village water management committees was another objective of the project. We set up and trained water management committees in all the project communities. They help in the day-to-day management and maintenance of the water source. This will help make the project sustainable. As best practice, we ensure the committee is gender-balanced and that women have a say in the maintenance and management of the water source. Traditional women communicators known as ‘’Kanyeleng’’ are also involved in the sensitization of communities for better water management. 

Jarrol Village

  • The jump and shout for joy when there is water available
  • Clean drinking water flowing to the delight of the community
  • Elders of the community pose for the camera after completion of the water project
  • Water quality testing
  • Dewatering & sanitizing the well
  • The well digger is deep down in the well working to re-dig the well and clear it from any other debris
  • Well digger’s work in progress
  • Well digger being lowered down the well to start re-digging the well
  • The well digger is about to get down the well again to start re-digging the well
  • Work in progress
  • Work begins

BENEFICIARY TESTIMONIAL 

The excitement and happiness are overwhelming in all the beneficiary communities. Heads of villages of the respective 5 villages all expressed their sincere thanks for the projects and happiness, highlighting the positive impact that these clean water projects have in their lives., the local councilor of the district Papieye Tamba who is also a health care practitioner for Sintet Health Center, heaped praises on and thanks to Water Charity. He also mentioned the social and economic importance of the water projects, as well as the tremendous importance of clean drinking water for the communities, especially in relation to the provision of education and the increased wellbeing. He also mentioned the importance and timeliness of the project given communities have experienced an influx of refugees from the Cassamance crisis. We are extremely happy about these water projects. We often treat waterborne diseases at the clinic. These water projects will also help us in combating other communicable diseases. This is indeed joyful for the district especially my ward, he added. Various women leaders from the beneficiary communities emphasized the tremendous importance these water projects made on their communities. Fatou Colley, a traditional birth attendant also heaped praises and thanks for the water projects. She noted the important of clean water in their work as traditional birth attendants in communities. We face challenges without clean water to deliver babies safely. These clean water projects are a life saver and we are tremendously happy for it, especially the sanitation aspect of the project. Am happy now we have clean drinking water in our community and we are forever grateful said Aramata Bah, community women mobilizer Sintet ward also shared her joy for the completion of the water projects. We can now have a peace of mind as abundant clean drinking water is now available in the communities. We are truly grateful to Water Charity, ‘’jere jeff’’(thank you) she said.

Thanks to the donors for making this project a success.

Kalagi Village

  • Always happy times with clean drinking water for everyone
  • One of the youth elders of the community getting water from the hand pump
  • Installing the new conversion head
  • Working on the concrete solidity of the well
  • Concrete works
  • Dismantling the hand pump
  • Firm grip on the rod as the workers begin removing the iron pipes to be replaced with stainless steel ones
  • Removing the chain
  • Clearing the area from grass and other unwanted elements around the well

Kolley Kunda Village

  • Water celebration time for the village. The project is completed with all happiness and smiles for the community
  • Water is happiness
  • Jainaba is happy to be washing her hand clean by using the hand washing station
  • Hand washing stations help children especially to be trained on the culture of practicing effective hand washing and good sanitation
  • Training session for the community to be practicing effective hand washing
  • Women’s training session about the effective hand washing technique using the hand washing station
  • Water quality testing
  • Removing the hand pump water tank
  • Dismantling all the pieces out

To see project-related videos, CLICK HERE. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.