The Gambia

Community Description
The village of Bantanding-Tukulor is located in the North Bank near the border with Senegal. It is a farming village with 35 compounds, housing about 200 people.

The people of the village grow coos, groundnut, and corn. They also plant cashews and mangoes. They have recently joined a tree planting project in the Jokadu area and have two nurseries for live fence and other species.

The village has two hand pumps but both are in disrepair and need parts and repairs in order to be operable and safe. Pump #1 has an intact cement wall around it. It is not being used at all at this time.

The moving parts in the pump itself are worn and need replacing. Additionally other bolts, couplings, bearings and the handle chain are in need of replacement. The concrete wall only needs reinforcement where there are cracks.

Project Description
This project is to repair the first of the hand pumps, Pump #1.

The work will be done by Ibu Sinyan, the local well mechanic.

Project Impact
This project will benefit the 200 people in the village who rely on this pump for water.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Suzanne Brewer

Comments
This is a critical project that must be remedied at once for the community to have water for their daily needs. The simple repairs represent a very cost-effective solution.

Dollar Amount of Project
$240.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$240.00

Community Description
Kuraw Arafang is a small Mandinka community of about 850 residents located 3 km from the River Gambia. Mandinkas are known for their impressive farming and gardening abilities.

The Village Development Community, consisting of the village elders, oversees all projects, from design through completion.

The women's kafoo (women's gardening group) has more than 300 members of strong, hardworking women of all ages. Vegetable selling and farming are two of the most profitable markets in Kuraw.

Kuraw has three large gardens. Since the women's group is expanding, and men are beginning to pick up gardening, a field has been cleared and fence put for a new garden.

Planting has already begun. However, presently the villagers are forced carry large amounts of water in buckets atop their heads from the nearest well (approximately 0.5 km away) for the watering of the plants.

Project Description
A new well will be built to irrigate the garden. It will be dug to a depth of 6 meters by Samba, a local well digger.

Project Impact
Approximately 850 people will benefit from this project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Kasey Pendexter

Comments
The new garden well will make the villagers more productive, as they will be relieved of the need to carry water from long distances. This will result in at a great savings of time and energy, which can be utilized to much greater advantage.

This garden well project follows up on a similar project undertaken and completed in another community by Kasey. It exemplifies our premise that successful projects should be replicated for maximum 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 Benjamin Clark, South Portland, ME, with the help of friends and family of Pendexter.

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

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Kerr Auldi is a small village of about 300 people. It is located in the Central River Division of The Gambia, 6 km east of Kaur.

There are two pumps that are not functioning and in need of repair. The first is at the Lower Basic School. The second is in the village of Kerr Auldi. Villagers use the pumps depending on their location.

With the pumps not working, the village is left with only one closed well. This forces the people to use two open wells, with health and safety issues.

Project Description
The two broken water pumps will be repaired by replacing broken parts. The pump in the school needs a new cylinder for its base. The pump in the village has a chain that needs to be replaced.

The replacement parts are available in Farafenni, and the work will be quickly done by a local technician.

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

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Kyle Staggers

Comments
This is a very inexpensive remedy to a water availability issue that affects the entire village.

Dollar Amount of Project
$220.00

Donations Collected to Date
$220.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of Creative Crossroads Promotional Products.

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

Community Description
Kerr Ardo is a rural village located in the northern part of The Gambia, near the Senegal border. Culturally, it is composed of two tribes, the Wolof and the Fulla. It is the home of about 1,800 people, whose livelihood depends on farming and livestock (cattle, donkeys, goats, and sheep).

Obtaining enough water for survival is very difficult due to the location of Kerr Ardo. Kerr Ardo is far away from the river and its tributaries, and the water table in the area is at a depth of over 40 meters.

The inhabitants, the livestock, and the crops all rely on six hand pumps for water, one of which is reserved exclusively for the use of the school. Kerr Ardo Primary School educates 150 students (62 male, 88 female) from nursery to 6th grade.

The school uses its hand pump for drinking water, cooking, and cleaning. It also needs water to support its garden and tree nursery. Some of the produce from this garden is put into the students’ meals, and the rest is sold. The profit is then used to maintain the garden and buy seeds for the coming year.

Earlier this week, five of the six pumps broke, leaving the community members to depend on one single source of water. Even the school was left without an adequate amount of water.

In the past, the villagers have pooled their money to make minor repairs on said pumps. However, after consulting the mechanic, they were told that four of the broken pumps will need significant repairs.

Project Description
This project is to repair 5 broken pumps in the community. One of them requires only minor repairs, while five need significant repairs.

Project funds will be used to purchase 4 repair kits ($260) and 4 chains ($220).

The community will pay for all labor costs for the 5 pumps, an amount that exceeds the cost of the materials.

Project Impact
The entire community of 1,800 will benefit from the repair of these wells.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Mallory Pohlman

Comments
This is a project that exemplifies the ability of Water Charity, through its Appropriate Projects initiative, to react to, and assist immediately in, a crisis situation. Here, the community has been beset by a situation where 5 of the 6 pumps have become nonfunctional. However, they lack the funds to purchase the parts to remedy the situation.

We pre-fund projects immediately, and are therefore able to provide the money for the parts at once. We do, however, depend on your donations to reimburse us, so that we have the money to fund the next projects.

Dollar Amount of Project
$480.00

Donations Collected to Date
$480.00

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 Mallory Pohlman of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Mallory and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in The Gambia.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.