The last week of February, supporters of The White Feather Foundation helped us reach our goal of $13,000 to bring a new clean water system to the St. Felix Catholic Primary School in Bamenda, Cameroon.
Once the funds were delivered, the Grassroots Activist in charge of the project, Farmer Tantoh, mobilized a team within the community and got to work. They began that week by purchasing supplies and beginning the dig. What follows are their updates from the field.
March 2 — Water Found
On this day, the team reached water around 10 meters deep from where they began digging the previous week. They started the draining process and began moulding concrete rings.
March 4 — Concrete Rings Constructed
Next, the the focus was on constructing the concrete rings that will be placed inside the well.
March 10 — A Deeper Dig
A few days later, the team had to flush out water before digging deeper, to 15 meters, which is their final target.
March 15 – Ring Installation
With the well completely dug out, it was time to install the concrete rings, which will hold sea sand to act as filtration.
March 17 – Tower in Progress
The next step involved building the tower at foundation level.
March 20 – Tower Nearing Completion
This week started with additional work on the tower and will continue with the construction of the stand taps, the flushing of the well to remove sediments and other pollutants, and the washing of the concrete from the inside.
Connection of the tank and installation is projected to be complete this weekend … meaning by next week, the school should be able to drink clean water from this new well!
On behalf of the entire TWFF team, we extend our deepest gratitude to all who donated funds to the campaign, bought merchandise or shared our posts to help raise awareness about the project. It is because of your generosity and spirit that a school community of 600 and an additional 2,000 nearby citizens will enjoy access to clean water for the first time since 1980.
Watch this space for additional updates from Farmer Tantoh and his team in Cameroon.
To donate to our Clean Water area of giving to support future projects like this, visit this page.
