Sixty-seven-year old Ab Kamara, Chief of Lowoma Mandu in the Kailahun District of Sierra Leone, remembers a time when his village depended on a polluted pond in the woods as the community’s only water source for drinking, cooking and bathing. “We were getting water in the forest… all the garbage and human waste would wash into the pond,” he recalled. “Members of the community, especially the children, often suffered from diarrhea and other diseases caught from the dirty water.”

Then Africare , a member of Global Impact’s charity alliance, came into the area and helped community leaders organize and create a plan to build a water pump in the village. “Africare helped us provide food for workers and also imported materials like cement and a pump,” Chief Kamara said.

The villagers have seen a dramatic improvement in the health and quality of life since they completed the well. “There is no more diarrhea among the children,” says Watta Momoh, a woman who is one of the community’s leaders. “The water is clean even straight from the tap, and the community is producing more food.”

After building the well, the villagers worked with Africare to increase agricultural production of rice and vegetables. The work involves both men and women in the village and is improving living conditions for all. “We want everyone to be moved to do something very important in the community,” said Chief Kamara.