Sierra Leone Project     First crew from the UK returns from the Pujehun Sierra Leone

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‘At this rate of drilling , it will take a thousand years to provide clean water to all parts of Africa’

Alive and Well’s 1st Dando 2000

Registered Charity Number

Registration pending

Registered Address:

Meadow’s Edge

High Street

Stoney Stratton

Somerset

BA4 6DY

Drill rig - Dedeghan, Sierra Leone Nov 2010

This website was created FOC by Alive & Well

About Us:(Longer version)

OUR CHARITY

At the start of 2009 a small group of people met, were introduced to this crisis in Sierra Leone and resolved to actually do something about it themselves. This was the start of Alive and Well. Based in the West Country we come from all walks of life to make use of the advantages and opportunities we have to save lives.

We are a group of like-minded individuals who want to make a difference. To that end we have formed the charity Alive+Well with a clear and simple purpose to set about sinking wells in villages where there is identified need in the SE of Sierra Leon.

We also intend to leave a legacy by leaving drilling rigs on the ground which will be permanently available to the communities in the region and by training the local inhabitants how to use the equipment.

Alive & Well will work closely with the charity Wherever the Need who already operate in this region and provide and conserve clean drinking water for people and, where possible, livestock, crops and trees. They combine this with the building of eco-sanitation toilets, which are vital to the good health of both people and the planet.

OUR PURPOSE

The charity Alive + Well has a very clear, simple focus and that is:-

To sink wells in villages in Africa, specifically Sierra Leon, putting in place firm foundations for building stable and healthy communities. In doing so we will train local crews to drill, loan them our rigs and support them with a living wage for themselves and their families so that they can drill free water bore-holes whilst providing a living for their families. Self help - real help.

A bore-hole will supply sufficient clean water for 250 people, villages in the region vary in size and our plan is to work closely with the local communities and community leaders prior to starting work so that we can identify those communities in greatest need. We already have those contacts in place. Within the first phase we plan to sink enough bore-holes to supply an entire village before moving on to other settlements.

We aim to:-

1. Place drilling rigs on the ground. These will be permanently available to the communities in the region.

The rig is a simple mobile Cable Percussion Drill and a 4x4 vehicle to pull it. A Cable percussion drill - the drilling tools are suspended from a wire rope and are lifted and dropped to cut a borehole. More information at www.consallen.com

2. Provide local crews that will use the rig to provide wells for communities that have no means to pay for them otherwise

We understand that to there are many other elements needed to enable the creation of sustainable communities. This is why we will be working with the charity ‘Wherever the Need’ (WTN). It is a symbiotic relationship as WTN do not have enough teams sinking bore-holes and Alive & Well want to concentrate solely on the provision of bore-holes, pumps and training. WTN have the experience and expertise to help coordinate further use of the clean water supply for sanitation, irrigation and water storage (for the dry season) schemes

PROJECT PROGRAMME

Prior to arriving in the area we will have identified the rough location of all the boreholes. When we are in the village we will agree the exact location. There is superstition about the positioning of the wells that means we have to only disclose the location on the day of drilling in case a hex is put on the location.

Of equal importance to actually sinking the boreholes is training the local community to sink boreholes themselves, using the equipment supplied by A+W, and maintaining the pumps once they are operational.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES (LONG TERM)

To provide a sustainable programme of self help in the Pujehun District of Sierra Leone. Sustainable because drilling will fund itself and be carried out by local crews and because we will be followed-up by our sister charity Wherever the Need who provide sanitation, water storage and small business development opportunities to the communities no longer constrained by the lack of safe water. Strategic Objectives in full..

WHO WE DO IT FOR

We will be working with villages in the Pujehun District in South East Sierra Leone (see map). This region is home to some of the most desperate communities in West Africa. We plan to work with the Pujehun Development Organisation (PDG) that is helping coordinate projects in the region. More...

HELP US CHANGE LIVES, HELP US NOW.