Water Charity

The aim of the project is to raise awareness for the need of clean water, and promote current community projects in Mozambique.

You can keep up with this project on Positive H2O as well as Kitesurfing Mozambique and their Facebook page.

Location
Saare Dagua, Kaolack, Senegal

Community Description
The village of Saare Dagua is located within walking distance of Thiawando, only about one kilometer away. Immediately after we installed #11, several prominent members of the village came to see it and started inquiring about getting one of their own. By immediately we mean they came for lunch and tea the same day we finished the install.

Villages in Senegal are tied together very closely often intermarrying and sharing in all sorts of ceremonies and traditions. This means that even if there is only a dirt path between them, news like a new pump travels instantly. By the end of our traditional three rounds of tea together we had promised to come back and take a look at least.

Thiawando has a fairly diverse population of many different ethnicities. Saare Dagua on the other hand is 100% Pulaar. As such they are primarily herders and have a lot of cattle. As Pulaars they also have a very strong joking relationship with Sereres. My Senegalese village and language is Serere so I got plenty of jokes from the elders about how much millet and beans I like to eat (Trust me this joke is very funny here). The joking is always lighthearted as Sereres and Pulaars intermarry and often speak each other’s languages and we quickly put our differences aside and got down to business.

Project Description
This project is to install a pump at the community well in Saare Dagua.

This is a central well which is used by the entire village to water their cattle. There is a nearby basin just far enough from the well that it is not being used, but close enough that with a pump and extended pipe they could fill it easily and more efficiently and regularly provide water for the cattle. The well is the closest clean fresh water source for drinking and washing as well.

Project Impact
All 340 members of the village will benefit from the increased efficiency of pulling water.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Garrison Harward and C.J. Pederson

Comments
With the close proximity of this pump to the two in Thiawando and with their close inter-village partnerships this pump will have a great built-in support system to ensure its maintenance and proper use into the future.

Dollar Amount of Project
$100.00

Donations Collected to Date
$100.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of Vicki Ringer, of Woodland Hills, CA, USA.

If you now contribute $150 (our new price, which includes labor), your name will be placed on the waiting list to adopt the next project in order.

If you wish to contribute less than $150, the money will be applied toward the overall program.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Garrison reports:

In the course of any good appropriate technology’s development things should be changed, innovated and tested to ensure that the product is always improving and ends up as the best possible version of that technology. Yes this is the normal course we should be and are taking but it occasionally leads to innovations being tried that simply fail. That’s what happened here with Thiawando #2.

We decided to try out a new turn block system (the thing that sits at the bottom of the well to turn the rope and send it back up the pipe) which we thought would be much simpler and easier to produce on a large scale. The previous block was a piece of PVC tediously shaped into a 180 degree “U” and placed in a block of cement to make it sit on the bottom. The new system was a little metal square made out of tube steel that straps to the pipe so that the rope can theoretically roll over any edge at any angle as it turns around and then goes into the pipe. A little confusing I know, and the pump thought so too. This system worked perfectly on our experiments with Pump#14 but for some reason it didn’t work here causing us to put this pump on hold for over a month.

In the end we went with the old system which we know works perfectly well. We’re still not sure what went wrong but it’s better to go with what works while we figure it out.

The rest of the install went really smoothly. This being the second pump here, the village was familiar with the process already and had all the materials collected and waiting when we got there. They made the cap while we hung out with the kids and let them practice their English with us. There is a CEM (Junior High) not too far from the village, so lots of the kids are starting to learn English. They have big dreams, much bigger than a pump can provide, but we’re happy to be moving in the right direction with them on the long road Senegal is traveling.

Pump Output: 35 Liters/ Min

Total Number of People Benefiting: 800

Funder: Vicki Ringer

This project was to provide the school with running water and a bathroom. Adam reports:

The overall goal was to improve the bathroom facility and water accessibility in a local school in Potrero Reduccion, Paraguay. The school consists of 6 teachers and about 60 elementary age students.

The project directly benefits the teachers and students, but it also benefits the ~200 people that live in Potrero Reduccion because the school is the main public building in the community. As such, it is used for community meetings, parties, and fundraisers.

Previously, on one side of the school grounds, there was a potable source of water in the form of a dilapidated well. On the other side of the school grounds, there was a 3 ft x 3 ft bathroom that consisted of a cement hole in the ground. The bathroom had brick walls and a roof, but both were full of holes and leaks and the roof would constantly blow off. The bathroom door consisted of a plank of wood leaning against the wall.

The idea of the project was to build up and improve the well so that a motor and pipes could be attached. Potable water would then be pumped to a new, 'modern' bathroom that would be situated much closer to the school. The director, along with a group of parents, commenced the project by improving the structure of the well and by purchasing a pump/motor and water tank.

Next, the group began building the foundation for the new bathroom. These few steps had taken two years to complete as money would have to be raised and contributions gathered from within the community. However, the funding and contributions completely dried up and the well and new bathroom foundation sat untouched for almost two years.

After meeting with the director, teachers, and parents' group, it became apparent that they were not lacking much for the project to be completed. They had the labor and tools in place; all they needed were some funds to help finish the bathroom foundation and pipes for the pumping of water.

With the funds from Water Charity, we completed the bathroom foundation. We then divided the room into three stalls, placing a toilet in two of the stalls and a faucet and shower spigot in one of the stalls.

A sturdy roof was then put on the bathroom. There were three doors with locks installed (two for the stalls with toilets and one entrance door for the building) along with one window. Electricity was also connected and one overhead light fixture was placed.

Most importantly, potable water can now be pumped to the bathroom through piping connected to the well.

Proper disposal of waste was also a high priority so some piping was used to carry waste a safe distance away into an area cleared for this purpose. Project funds also paid for all of this piping and allowed the completed bathroom to have a clean source of running water.

The teachers, students, parents' group, and I want to express our utmost appreciation for helping to make this project possible. We truly give thanks for the generous donation that helped provide the school of Potrero Reduccion with a modern bathroom and running water.

We in turn are grateful to Adam for completing this project, and to The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust for providing the funding.

Location
Thiawando, Kaolack, Senegal

Community Description
Pump #11 was our first project in this village, and if you go back and look at some of the pictures you’ll notice it was quite a bit greener the first time around. That’s the difference here between the rainy season and dry season, and why access to water is so incredibly crucial for local populations. Here in Thiawando things are very hot and dry but the population is still just as wonderful, hospitable, and hopeful as ever.

They are still hoping to start a community garden around the first well, but even before that happens several individuals are gardening in their homes and the pump is being thoroughly appreciated by the local cattle. It had some problems briefly and the women were up in arms until the village repaired it showing just how appreciated it was.

This is a village of over 800 people and with such a large population one pump on one well is helpful but it isn’t fully meeting the needs here.

Project Description
There is a second well in the village about 100 m from the first which is actually slightly shallower and larger. This means that the pump should work even better here than on the first well.

The plan is to install this second pump to further increase access to fresh clean water and facilitate the future establishment of a second gardening space. This pump will also help to provide those living on the outskirts of the village with closer access to water. An extra 100 m to walk to the far pump doesn’t sound like all that much, but it sure feels like a lot with 40 liters of water on your head.

Project Impact
All 800 residents will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Garrison Harward and C.J. Pederson

Comments

Dollar Amount of Project
$100.00

Donations Collected to Date
$100.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of Vicki Ringer, of Woodland Hills, CA, USA.

If you now contribute $150 (our new price, which includes labor), your name will be placed on the waiting list to adopt the next project in order.

If you wish to contribute less than $150, the money will be applied toward the overall program.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

This project was to install 43 rainwater catchment systems to provide clean drinking water for the residents of Pempe.

Erica reports:

Once full funding was reached, one member from the planning committee traveled to the city with me at his own expense to embark on a 3-day-long endeavor of purchasing the project materials.

Upon arrival of the project materials in Pempe, all community members worked together in carrying and distributing the project materials. Community members worked for two days transporting 1,376 cement stones from the neighboring community to Pempe and then to the individual areas where the systems were to be set up.

The two male community members responsible for the installation of the systems received training in how to construct the system’s stands as well as DuroTank “houses” for homes that were not high enough off the ground to accommodate the system.

The two laborers successfully installed all 43 rainwater catchment systems, including 6 systems that required the additional Durotank houses. During this installation period, the community members continued to work together in assisting the two male community members who installed the systems.

After all tanks were set up, community meetings were held to discuss the importance of making certain lifestyle changes now that the community was equipped with the catchment systems. These included using rain water to brush teeth, cooking needs, and drinking needs. Other topics discussed at the meetings were water conservation and necessary maintenance in order to ensure that the water caught by these systems is as clean as it can be and lasts year round (despite change in rainfall).

From this project, the community has gained a sense of confidence and accomplishment as their constant involvement and collaboration was extremely influential to the project’s success. Moving forward, community members will be able to apply their new skills of project planning, proposing, assessment, execution, and implementation to other needs in the community.

The community of Pempe and I would like to sincerely express our gratitude to Water Charity.

We wish to thank Erica for completing this project, and again extend our gratitude to The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust for providing the funding.

The project was to place a second water pump in the Faraba Moringa Garden to enable the women’s group that works there to start its own vegetable garden.

Marcie reports:

The pump installation for #18 went very smoothly and so we figured we would talk a little about what moringa is and why a moringa garden is useful.

Moringa Oleifera is an amazingly nutritious tree with a variety of uses. One may not see this tree as something special, as it is slender, doesn’t grow very high, doesn’t provide much shade and seems a bit flimsy, but they eyes can be deceiving. One can eat immature seed-pods like one would green beans, make oil from the seeds that is used in many beauty products, filter water, produce fodder for animals, and even treat malnutrition with its leaf powder. The moringa tree is considered one of the world’s most useful trees as almost every single aspect of the tree can be used for something beneficial.

When consumed moringa has 7 times the vitamin C that is in an orange, 13 times the vitamin A in spinach, 3 times the potassium in a banana, and 2 times the protein of yogurt. This is a major malnutrition-fighting tree, as it even helps new mothers produce more breast milk. Leaves can be eaten fresh, cooked, or stored as dried powder for many months without refrigeration, and reportedly without loss of nutritional value. Moringa is especially promising as a food source in the tropics because the tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are typically scarce.

Ballal Agribusiness and their women’s groups are working a three-fold operation with moringa. They are growing intensive beds for leaf harvest and powder production, collecting seed for oil production and producing animal feed from oil production remnants.

Pump Output: 39 Liters/ Min

Total Number of People Benefiting: 25

Funder: Julia Chung-Lun in honor of Water Charity’s Executive Director Dr. Jacqueline Chan

This project was to build 30 improved latrines in a rural Minianka village.

Pilar reports:

The latrine project has been completed.

The initial phase involved the purchase of the brick mold in the capitol and the first wave of supplies in the local city. After that, cement was purchased as necessary.

The actual process began when each household spent 2-3 days digging the latrine pit and collecting the raw materials. The trained Water and Sanitation Committee member then arrived with the cement, brick mold, rebar, and tools necessary to construct the bricks and slab, making sure to measure the dimensions of the pit and its distance from the closest well.

After that, the household had to water the bricks and slab every day for a week. During that week, the soak away pit was also dug.

At the end of the week, the committee member returned to lay the bricks and add the slab. At this time, the remaining floor space in the latrine was covered with a layer of concrete and the rocks and pipe were installed in the soak away pit.

The project built the skills of training committee members in masonry techniques and project design and management. In addition, each household in the community learned latrine maintenance and is now able to practice simple masonry techniques often used in sanitation work.

We again wish to thank The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust for providing the funding for this project.

Location
Faraba, Kolda, Senegal

Community Description
Smack in the middle of two villages is a vast stretch of farmland. About 95 men and women farm here during the rainy season, but only 7 garden during the dry season because of a lack of water. The 7 lucky gardeners own plots near the river so during the dry season they easily pull water. One of these plots, owned by Mamadou Barry (who we learned about in the last post) and Ballal Agribusiness, is serving as a Moringa garden, community learning space, and a women’s group garden. This is the second of the two pumps installed here.

Project Description
We are placing a second water pump in the Faraba Moringa Garden to enable the women’s group that works there to start its own vegetable garden. The members will plant onions, okra, and hot pepper then harvest and sell them in the Kolda market.

Project Impact
18 women and 7 men and their families will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Jacob Rice, Gregg Mathews, Mary Martin-Mabry, and Marcie Todd

Comments
This will greatly benefit the nutrition of the families in the group by providing adequate water to irrigate the vegetable garden during the dry season.

Dollar Amount of Project
$100.00

Donations Collected to Date
$100.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of Julia Chung-Lun, of Sydney, Australia, in honor of Jacqueline Chan, USA.

If you now contribute $150 (our new price, which includes labor), your name will be placed on the waiting list to adopt the next project in order.

If you wish to contribute less than $150, the money will be applied toward the overall program.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.