Stories of Change!

Celebrating the Inspiring Individuals and Communities Supported by Hands Empowering the Less Privileged in Sierra Leone

HELP-SL in collaborate with Water Aid and local technical partners provide health, water and sanitation services to the poorest communities in the Sowa chiefdom, Pujehun district of Sierra Leone.
HELPSALONE in partnership with Water Aid emphasizes rights and access to safe water, especially for the seven selected communities and schools in the Sowa chiefdom, Pujehun district, Sierra Leone. HELP draw on its wealth of experience Implementing Community Led Total Sanitation project to educate the communities about their rights to safe water and how to hold government accountable for those rights.

On Septemberfacilities Jaiwo village 7, 2011, it was announced that

One of the CLTS completed latrine with hand washing

HELPSL has been chosen as the partner NGO for the Water Aid project entitled Improving Sanitation and Decentralized Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in Pujehun District in Sierra Leone. Water Aid served as the generous financial sponsor of this project. The WASH project aims to ensure practical solutions to providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene education in rural communities. The project is to construct and rehabilitate some water wells in the selected communities and schools. .

HELPSALONE in partnership with Water Aid emphasizes rights and access to safe water, especially for the seven selected communities and schools in the Sowa chiefdom, Pujehun district, Sierra Leone
Series of trainings are conducted for WASH Committee members, school health clubs and focal teachers on how to manage and maintain clean drinking water, good sanitation and hygiene behaviors. Again, WASH committee members are also trained of their roles, rights and responsibilities of the communities towards achieving clean water and sanitation opportunities within the project time line.

treatment. This has always been a challenge until now we have access to safe and clean drinking water. We are therefore thankful to HELP-SL and Water Aid for saving our lives which has not being done by any NGO. According to Mohamed every household now has latrine with hand washing facilities including water and soap/ ash and good hygienic practices after using toilet is observed by the majority. Clothes lines, plate racks, compost heap as components that make up positive sanitation and hygiene practices are also evidence in our community.

Mohamed Sowa in front of the rehabilitated hand pump

Mohamed Sowa is the Chairman of the Fayama WASH Committee and old forty years. I want to starts by tanking HELP-SL for their timely intervention to rehabilitates our community pump which had brought sanity and well being amongst my people. Mohamed said, project has not only helped them to keep their community clean but also taught them positive hygiene and sanitation practices which was lacking. Although there was water well before the intervention but not cover and fence as a result, we were prone to water borne diseases especially the children, Mr. Sowa said. Today, we can proud of proper drinking water through HELP-SL as we now have protected hand pump that is covered, fence and well treated for drinking. Before the intervention, we used to spend our mega resources which we got from our agricultural activities such as farm work and backyard garden on malaria, diarrhea and typhoid as there were a big treat to the lives of both adults and children Mr. Sowa disclosed. Also, we used to work on foot to Bandajuma seven miles away from our village whenever there is any outbreak of disease for medical

Mustapha Moseray (middle) and pupils standing before the newly constructed latrine

Clean drinking water is not just about life or death, it could also affect the ability to earn income or go to school. That is why this water project is something that lifts the entire community and just about every area of community and economic life. This is said by Mustapha F. Moseray, the Teacher in charge who also served as the Focal Teacher, Upper Sabba Community Primary school health club in an interview with HELP-SL. Mustapha said that the school was established in 2011 and since then there has been no toilet. Both the staff and pupils used to go to the bush to defecate.

Most of the pupils especially the young ones do not clean up themselves properly after defecation and that affects lessons as classes are most times disturbed because of the offensive odor when ever such incident occurred . We thanked HELP-SL for motivating us through sanitation and hygiene education training to construct our own latrine in the school which has help to increase school enrolment rates, decreasing pupil absenteeism, and promoting children's overall health Mustapha Moseray confessed. We are very grateful to HELP-SL and Water Aid for bring the WASH IN SCHOOL project which has educate the school going pupils about positive hygiene practices as they were taught the five critical times of hand washing after using latrine Mr. Moseray noted. To further demonstrate their commitment HELP-SL again supplied us hygiene tools including kettle, drinking bucket, cup and soap to be used during school hour he acknowledged.

Aruna Kamara, Chairman, Jaiwo WASH Committee

25 years old Aruna Kamara is the chairman for the Jaiwo WASH Committee in the Sowa chiefdom. He confessed that since the inception of the village they had never dream of having this type of pump as their earning power is far from getting such development. Saying we only rely on our little farming which cannot earn us enough to construct a well protected water well like what we now have. If we are to describe HELP-SL one can referred to the aid of the organization as life bringing gesture noting, access to good drinking water is more than gold and silver To be frank, HELP-SL is the first organization to meet our timely need that is, access to safe and clean drinking water Aruna maintained. According to he, before the intervention, the stream was used for all domestic purposes including drinking, cooking, laundering and washing. The community was prone to a lot of diseases particularly malaria and diarrhea, but he believed that with the presence of this fenced hand pump the diseases will soon be minimized. Now we can boast of compost heap, clothes lines and plate rack at every household.

Completed hand pump in Upper Komende community