Bring Clean Water to 15 Villages in Rural Gambia

Mabile is a mother of four living in Si Kunda, a small ethnic Fula village in Central Gambia. She has not had clean water to drink in close to 8 years. Her community handpump broke down years ago. A local mechanic pulled out the pump parts and took them away, promising to fix them and come back. The village is still waiting. 

Without the means to fix the handpump themselves, and without an alternate clean water source nearby, Si Kunda's residents have been drinking out of an open well for several years now. Every time Mabile draws water from the open well using buckets and rope, she knows she risks getting her family and herself sick. Waterborne diseases like dysentery and diarrhea are endemic in the region. But what other choice does she have? 

A long-lasting, sustainable solution is coming to her in April. Water Charity is planning on installing effective and efficient Sawyer household point of use water filter systems in at least 3 villages in the area who currently rely on open wells. Many of these communities previously had functioning handpumps which have long broken down and are beyond repair. By giving villagers simple and straight-forward training to maintain these robust filter systems, we will help reverse years of poor health outcomes and give Mabile and her children a brighter future free of wateborne disease.

This filter component will complement ongoing Bluepump installations to be done in at least 2 additional villages next month as well. We are also happy to report that certified inspections conducted last week on the 3 Bluepumps we installed in Sare Lefa, Madina Wallom,and Choya found no problems. The pump cylinders and rods were all pulled out and to be found working perfectly. Thanks again to all your generous support of our work!