Water Charity

Location
Daro Keur Ibrahima Signane, Fatick, Senegal

Community Description
This project is being implemented in the community of Daro Keur Ibrahima Signane, which was described in Project 15.

Pump number 16 completes the 5 pumps in 5 days series. Darou Keur Ibrahima Signane (DKIS for short) is a true community space. Within the hectare are 83 plots owned by 78 families, as almost each family in DKIS gardens. Most of the garden is used to produce for the village while 10 percent of the garden space is marked off for market gardening and selling at DKIS local market.

Each day of the week in roadside towns across Senegal is a local market called a luumo. Luumo is where many people in villages go to buy their produce for the week as well as other essentials such as clothes, furniture, and rope. Luumos carry a lot of the products to the village that can only be found in bigger cities. This saves villagers from having to travel to a city. Also, the luumo gives producers access to a market close to home to sell their products. At the luumo DKIS sells hot peppers and green peppers.

Project Description
The pump being installed here will be the second in this space, the first having been described under Project 15.

Project Impact
78 families will benefit from this project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Garrison Harward, Marcie Todd, and Amy Watts

Comments
This project further proves the benefit of scale achieved from working on double pumps and pumps in a concentrated geographical area.

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 Jacqueline Chan, of Crestline, CA, USA in honor of Heather Chan, of Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada.

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.

Marcie and Garrison report:

As we said before this is the second pump we’ve partnered with Pape on and as such the work was pretty straightforward. Pape picked up the supplies for us and Garrison cast the cap the week before, so on the actual install day we only had to lift the cap, and install the piping.

We got there early and did precisely that… lucky number thirteen turned out to be pretty lucky indeed. No problems, no adventures, not even any stories really. Development work as an adventure with difficult struggles and beautiful cultural exchanges is certainly interesting, but sometimes there is just a need to be filled and the job gets done and that’s it. Not all that interesting but pretty effective.

Our most interesting part of this install was actually watching how all the tourists interacted with it. They watched us fascinated and then played with the pump afterwards. In the west we love toys, and to some extent water pumps are like toys, which is probably why so many of them get installed even if the particular model isn’t appropriate or very effective. Technology isn’t always better than manual labor. That said this pump IS better and much more efficient then pulling by hand at an appropriate depth. Dassilame Serere has a wonderfully shallow water table, which makes this particular pump very worthwhile.

Pape and Garrison are also now working on a project which will take this increased efficiency and magnify it by using the pumps to help distribute water to 6 basins spread throughout the field. Once complete no woman will have a plot more then 15-20 meters away from a water source. Previously they may have had to carry water upwards of 50 meters, a difficult feat when watering an entire garden.

Pump Output: 30 Liters/ Min

Total Number of People Benefiting: 64

Funder: Caroline Fahmy

Omungari Parish, located in Kiruhura District, is a rural community located in the “dry cattle corridor” of southwestern Uganda. Located 22 kilometers from the nearest paved roads, the people who call Omungari home are mainly of the Banyankole and Bahima tribes. They are generally farmers and cattle herders who grow mainly bananas, maize, and cassava for subsistence, and coffee as the main cash crop.

Omungari is a growing community, most notably seen in the last two years through the arrival of two public service institutions. The presence of Life Child Initiative (LICHI), a privately run health center, and Omungari Secondary School, has spurred an increase in residential construction throughout the trading center and surrounding areas.

Despite the increase in activity seen for Omungari, many problems loom large for living healthy lifestyles. Alcohol consumption is high, income is very low, theft is prevalent, and literacy levels are low, to name but a few.

In addition to the aforementioned, two aspects of life in Omungari stand out as major obstacles to improving the quality of life for the people. Access to clean water sources throughout the area and limited resources within the school systems are serious issues that need to be addressed.

The Sya Bright Future Primary School is, like the health center, a privately run institution, in contrast to the more prevalent government sponsored schools. Catering to students from nursery level to primary seven, there are currently 17 staff members and nearly 400 students, about half of whom are boarding and half day students.

As with nearly every school in the area, Sya Bright Future has a major challenge in meeting its own need for clean water in order to cook, wash clothes, bathe, and drink. Currently, water is taken from a nearby pond that is filled by groundwater runoff from the fairly large watershed area surrounding the school. This is very poor quality water and leads to a host of hygiene and sanitation-related problems for staff and students alike.

Under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Jesse Coker, who presently works at LICHI, a water tank will be built at the school through the use of Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks (ISSB), as explained on the program page for the Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks Water Tank Program – Uganda.

The school has several large buildings with excellent iron sheet roofs that are ideal for the harvesting of clean rainwater for all of its water needs. A 20,000-liter water tank will be positioned just downslope from the new large dormitory, which is just upslope from the bathing area and also just upslope from the kitchen. This way, the least effort is needed to transport the water for multiple uses throughout the schools compound.

The money supplied by Appropriate Projects will cover roughly half of the costs of this project. The rest will be covered by Sya Bright Future Primary School.

The use of the ISSB technology will assist in the development of a new business that is aimed at helping LICHI transition from external funding sources to a more local, sustainable, and community-oriented approach to health care provision. The construction of this water tank at Sya Bright Future Primary School will help to achieve significant results at two levels: meeting the water needs at the school, and helping to establish a business that will support the activities of a rural health center and thus the health of a population in need.

As an added incentive for potential clients, Engari Community Health Centre is offering complimentary health talks in hygiene and sanitation for every tank that is constructed.

To indicate your desire for your contribution to be allocated toward the overall Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks Water Tank Program – Uganda, please click the Donate button below.

The program consists of promoting the technology by implementing a training and production system. It is designed to address critical water needs in Uganda, and also create a viable economic opportunity for local residents. It will lead to the availability of more water, a system of better practices, and a higher level of health care for the people of Kiruhura District and beyond.

The ISSB method and technology has existed in Uganda for twenty years. A former PCV gave Jesse the inspiration to explore this methodology. Currently, there are at least four other volunteers in Uganda whose host organizations are involved with this technique of brick making for the construction of rainwater harvesting tanks. The cost for building these tanks is less than that of other methods currently being used locally.

Under the ISSB method, the bricks are made at the site where a tank is being built, eliminating transport costs and the subsequently damaged bricks. Bricks are made through a manual compression machine, which requires neither electricity nor fuel to operate.

A simple mixture of subsoil, water, and between five and ten percent cement is compressed, and the resulting brick needs to cure for two days before it can be used. This is in stark contrast to the firing process that requires vast amounts of firewood and about three months’ time to make bricks, which are also of a lesser quality.

The bricks that are produced by the ISSB methodology are weatherproof and do not require firing. They are interlocking on four sides and are curved in order to easily build a range of water tank sizes between 5,000 and 25,000 liters.

Because of the interlocking nature of these bricks, only five millimeters of cement needs to be used between courses of bricks. Courses are built on top of a stone and cement foundation, with diameter and height determined by tank volume.

Depending on the capacity of the tank being built, structural reinforcements are added, such as rebar between every third course of bricks for a 20,000-liter tank. A metal support pipe is added to the inside of the tank to support the cement roof that is built.

To complete the system, gutters are added to the adjacent building for harvesting the rainfall that is received during one of two rainy seasons. The resulting process is cost-effective, durable, and environmentally friendly, and helps the local economy.

Jesse currently work at Life Child Initiative (LICHI), a privately run Health Centre, in Omungari Parish, located in Kiruhura, Uganda. Jesse and his local counterpart, James Betungura, have already trained a group of local men to operate the brickmaking machine and build water tanks.

The team is presently in a stage of marketing throughout the community, visiting other health centers, schools, churches, businesses, and some private households.

As the program grows, the ability to build larger capacity water storage tanks (30,000 to 100,000-liters) will be developed.

Continuity and sustainability will be achieved when Jesse is replaced after conclusion of his Peace Corps service in October.

The first project be built under this program will be the Sya Bright Future Primary School Water Tank Project - Uganda.

To indicate your desire for your contribution to be allocated toward this program, please click the Donate button below.

Marcie and Garrison report:

This pump has been a long time in the making. We initially did the village meetings before the rainy season, prepped the well cap during the rainy season, and finished the install after, and now finally we're writing everything up. There really are a lot of steps that go into installing a pump.

This pump was a part of our 5 pump tour so luckily both of us got to be here for the install. Amy Watts, the volunteer in Daro, helped Garrison do the prep work on the well cap and Marcie came out for the Install. As is the norm in Senegal though, things didn't go exactly according to plan.

The day that we decided to cast the well cap turned out to be the same day as the last rain of the rainy season. It was quite a torrent. At first we thought maybe we could just ride it out under a tree, but the rain just kept getting heavier and heavier. We decided to make a run for it and just in time.

As soon as we got back to Amy's hut the lighting started striking much too close for comfort. Half an hour of hunkering down though and the storm had passed and we were ready to finish the cap.

When Marcie arrived we had our second big hang up. The village wasn't able to find the right PVC pipe so we had to spend all morning searching in Toubacouta and in the end splicing together several pipes to get the full length. We didn't even start the install until after lunch and needless to say it was hot. Morning really is a much more preferable time to work here.

In the end though we went through the routine, hooked everything up and exchanged high fives and hugs when the water started flowing. The problems were minor compared with the benefits. The village was thrilled and is talking about the possibility of expanding their garden and investing in a basin system. We'll keep you updated as things progress.

Pump Output: 37 Liters/ Min

Total Number of People Benefiting: 75

Funder: Jacqueline Chan in honor of Steve Cockwell

Within the community of Kunahandhoo, 4 currently unconnected rainwater tanks, received as a part of a governmental aid program, are sitting unused because the community lacks the resources to develop them into a working system to help meet the freshwater needs of the island.

The four tanks consist of one of 10,000-liter capacity, one of 5,000-liter capacity and two of 2,500-liter capacity. Under the project, the four tanks will be connected to comprise a workable system using the appropriate piping and fixtures.

An optimal site, located between the community harbor and the island’s residential area, has been allocated. A concrete platform will be built and the tanks will be secured. A catchment area will be built over the tanks to house and shade them. Finally, gutters and piping will be installed to capture the rainwater and direct it by gravity into the tanks for storage.

The planning has been completed, and work is underway to purchase the materials and contract the labor for installation. We will keep you updated as the project progresses.

This project has been fully funded by Six Senses Resorts and Spas and Positive H2O. If you wish to contribute to the expansion of the Rainwater Harvesting Program – Maldives to other islands, please click on the Donate button below.

Location
Daro Keur Ibrahima Signane, Fatick, Senegal

Community Description
Daro is located just off the laterite road going from Toubacouta to Saloum Diane. We first started looking into this village after the Keur Andallah pump when we literally stopped in on the bike ride home. As soon as we did and saw their broken down water pump, we knew Daro had to be part of the project.

The village is small, only about 300 people, and predominately Wolof, but like everywhere in this region there are a few Mandinkans, Sereres and Pulaars. There is a primary school which almost all the children attend and a substantial community garden established by a previous Peace Corps Volunteer. It is primarily an agricultural village and the people here are already excellent gardeners and farmers. They have had a wonderful relationship with Peace Corps over the years and are continually learning and expanding their efforts.

Project Description
The community garden provides 75 people with fenced in plots for vegetable production. It sits within a flood basin which means that the water table is very high and perfect for rope pumps. There are two wells in this space and thus we will be installing two rope pumps. Pump #16 will be the second in this space.

Project Impact
All 75 members of the group will benefit from increased access to water. This should lead to increased production which will then increase overall nutrition in the village for kids like these.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Garrison Harward, Marcie Todd, and Amy Watts

Comments
These pumps will decrease crowding around the well and speed up the process of watering, allowing more time to be devoted to trying new gardening techniques and increasing yields.

This is the first of two pumps in this space. We're going to be trying to do more double installs like this in order to fully meet the needs of our villages.

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 Jacqueline Chan, of Crestline, CA, USA in honor of Steve Cockwell, of Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada.

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.