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26 March 2002 By Tapia Kabia, Sierra Leone Red Cross, Calaba Town The gently rolling hills of Calaba Town, east of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, and the stream that flows down to the Atlantic between them present an idyllic scene. For generations people in the settlements dotting the stream's banks have used its water for laundering, bathing, and even cooking - it is their only source of water, but it can be deadly. The stream belies the tranquil rustic image it helps create, for the water it contains is also a source of diseases like cholera. And in March every year the stream runs dry, forcing the community to dig shallow holes to get water. The acute water shortage during the dry season was one of the community's most serious problems. But now things have changed for the 4,000 inhabitants of Consider Lane. Zainab Bangura and Abdul Koroma, both 10, are two of the community's schoolchildren who help fetch water for their parents. This Monday morning they joined a queue of excited people in front of the new Red Cross "Class A well." There was only one topic of conversation: the ease with which people can now fetch water. The children giggle as friends in the line help them hoist the heavy buckets onto their heads. No one worries too much about being late for school. Today Zainab will appear in class in a clean uniform. After lessons she will go to the well, fetch some water, launder her uniform and take a bath. "I had to waste a lot of time to get water from the stream, which was mostly dirty anyway, to do the domestic chores with before I went to school," she says. "Now all that's over, thanks to the well." Class A wells meet certain standards in terms of the number of people they can supply and the protection zone around them. Community leaders have been trained to chlorinate the well to maintain the quality of the drinking water that supplies thousands of residents. In order to keep the well tidy, a strong cement block wall has been built around it with a lockable door. A caretaker appointed by the community makes sure that everyone respects the well and uses it correctly. People have to be careful not to transfer dirt from the bottom of their utensils to the area around the well, for example, a common problem with communal water supplies. Once very frequent, diarrhoea and cholera have been drastically reduced. Like Zainab, the residents appreciate the assistance of the Sierra Leone Red Cross. The agony of walking miles to search for water is now a thing of the past. |
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