Bring water to 8,000 people in a conflict zone

Background

With funding from the Swiss Embassy, Reach Out rehabilitated the water network in Bafia this January. It was a very challenging project. Bafia is a conflict zone, and our car was burnt during the execution of the project.  The pipes were renovated, 5 water taps set, a borehole and reserve were developed.

But one week after, the engine, which had not been part of the project, stopped working.

The funds for the project had been exhausted, so we created this project, and thanks to your amazing support, we finally restored access to potable water in Bafia this June. This is the report from our WASH Officer[1]. We apologise for the quality of the pictures, but it is dangerous to bring good cameras and phones to the field.

Also, If you would like to support another water project, follow this link.

GOAL

Improve the living conditions of at least 8000 Inhabitants (IDPs and Hosts) living in the locality of Bafia, Muyuka Sub-division through the provision of an electrical generator to power the submersible borehole pump in the locality of Bafia.

 Assessment visit

The first visit served to assess the state of the engine, the sufficiency of the taps constructed, and electrical line. This visit started with a contact meeting with community leaders to ensure the community understood the project and was engaged to support it, they asked questions and made recommendations. 

 Selection of the generator:

With the available funds, the best option was identified: a Genset R180 with a single cylinder of 5.67kw/2600rpm. This generator is a cheap option, with simple functionality and easy to maintain by the community. A local electrician has been identified to work with the Water Management Committee.

It is worth noting that the first option was a solar generator, but this would have cost about 20,000 USD. Given our current fundraising capacity and the urgency of the problem, we had to re-think and settle for this simple and solid diesel generator.

Recommended maintenance

Our team is in constant communication with the Water Management Committee, and we have scheduled regular follow-up visits to the community to ensure the following:

1)      Thorough Inspection of the cooling system by regular observation of the coolant level

2)      Checking for electrical circuits to avoid short circuits which could potentially damage the system.

3)      Annual cleaning and filtering of the system. This is done by emptying clogged fuel lines and filters and checking out for worn-out parts for possible replacement.

4)      Frequent biochemical analysis of the water

 Achieved Results and Impacts

As a result of this intervention, the population of Bafia have 6 functional taps in the community (before this project the taps were there, but none was working). Water is pumped in the morning and in the evening for households to fetch in 20l jerrycans for home storage, and it is clean potable water used for domestic purposes and drinking. The new electrical engine is set to be functional for at least 10 years, and this time will be used to scale-up the water system to a gravity system with a bigger reservoir.

Bafia has more than 8,000 persons, 50% of them are under 18 years of age. Before, they were either using insufficient or dirty water from streams, rain, or far away communities. The impact of your support will be felt for generations. Some of you donated repeatedly for this project, showing relentless support. You should know that without you this village would not have had water if we had not attained this minimal fundraising goal we could not have bought the generator and today Bafia would still be without water. Because you exist, and you did what you did, hundreds of children are safe from diarrhea and undergrowth, and you might have averted some deaths related to water-born-diseases

P.D :

Check out our new project in a smaller community – Nsan Akan. This project is cheaper and will create a modern covered well in this border village with no access to potable water, any donation will make a great difference.

[1]WASH – Water Sanitation and Hygiene.