Balori Well Project - Senegal

Community Description
Balori is a small farming community located about 25 kilometers from the district capital of Saraya, in the southeast corner of Sénégal in the region of Kédougou. The community has a population of about 300 people.

The people of Balori are subsistence based farmers and live in an area that is distant from centralized services, including government and health services. For about four months a year the village is completely blocked off from services due to rivers and poor roads.

Between late January and early June of each year, the groundwater level decreases and the current well for the village often runs dry. There is a lack of sufficient water for basic hygiene and other everyday activities.

Project Description
This project is to build an additional covered well in the community. It will be dug to an increased depth of approximately 12 meters, so that water will be available throughout the entire year.

The well will be located near the edge of town not far from the present well. This site was chosen because it was known to have water.

The well will be built with a combination of brick and cement, with the upper half meter done with brick and the rest of the lining done with cement molds.

Two well diggers and masons from Kédougou(the regional capital) will come to the village to do the work.

The community will provide funds for some of the cement, along with lodging and food for the masons during the construction of the well. The community will also contribute labor to construct the bricks to be used at the mouth of the well.

Project funds will be used to pay the well diggers, to purchase materials (including cement, rebar and steel wire), to transport the materials to Balori from Saraya the district capital, and to construct the cement molds and the mouth of the well.

Project Impact
The project will benefit all 300 people in the village.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Chris Brown

Comments
The people of Balori will obtain needed access to potable water, especially during the dry season.

There is a great amount of community participation, which will ensure a commitment to the project, and makes it likely that the well will be maintained to provide sustained benefit.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Chris Brown of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Chris and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Senegal.

Conclusion of Balori Well Project – Senegal

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Chris Brown. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

The project was to build a covered well in the community.

Chris reports:

I helped put in a well in the small village of Balori, a village that typically runs out of potable water during the last few months of the hot season, forcing them to walk up to 1-2 km to get water.

The main purpose of the well was to increase access to potable water and to give a possible water source for a future gardening project during the dry season.

The project had mixed results, since the well ran dry two weeks after construction. The depth of the final well (approximately 10 meters) was insufficient to last through the dry season, though at the time it was believed to be sufficient by both the village and the well digger.

The well, however, did not run dry the following dry season. That season was preceded by an unusually large and long rainy season, which increased the water table dramatically. This well increased water access during the dry season, though it failed to meet the full need of the community.

Future projects will require a reserve of additional funds to provide for digging the well dug deep enough to provide an adequate water supply during all climatic conditions.

We wish to thank Chris for completing this project, and again extend our gratitude to Six Senses Resorts & Spas for providing the funding.