WELL DRILLING PROCESS

The first step in the JF Well Works Africa drilling process is collecting secondary data about the project area. This is done by accessing Uganda Water Supply Atlas, district statistics and reports on water usage. When collecting this data, JF Well Works Africa looks at everything from sanitation access and coverage of a certain area to the culture and practices of the community members, along with the total population and the number of available water sources.

Next, JF Well Works Africa meets with local leaders to share the proposed project approach, targets, goals and budget. JF Well Works Africa also takes time to get to know the relevant offices in the district for the purpose of mobilization and coordination during project intervention.

After the consultation meetings have been completed, JF Well Works Africa recruits enumerators to conduct a baseline survey of primary data collected at the household level. These surveys are administered to randomly selected households from each community and include questions regarding the water source being accessed and common diseases related to poor water and sanitation. Data is also collected from the health centers located within the project area. Once the data is collected, it is analyzed to show the problem in the area in terms of access to a safe water source and the disease burden the community is experiencing.

The JF Well Works Africa training department then organizes a community dialogue meeting. During the dialogue meeting, the management committee for the water source (Water Source and Sanitation Committee) is formed. This committee is comprised of nine community members, with 50% of representation on the committee being women.

After the dialogue meeting, the siting team visits the community to conduct a hydrogeological siting. This siting determines the feasible location with the recommended aquifer. After completion of the siting, the report is presented to the drilling team, who specifies the findings of the water table to understand where they expect water strike and the expected drilling depth.

The JF Well Works Africa training department then holds a training session with the whole community on everything related to water wells. This entails educating water users on good health, hygiene, sanitation practices and disease prevention. This training session also covers logistical matters like water collection, storage and transportation – also known as the safe water chain.

JF Well Works Africa training staff and a sub-county extension worker of the community train the members of the Water Source and Sanitation Committee about operation, maintenance, documentation and record keeping for the water well. The committee is also equipped with additional training about leadership, accountability and conflict resolution. Each family pays pennies per month for the future maintenance of the well. So, during this time, the committee is also provided with record books for each water source for user fee collection, meeting minutes and household sanitation status.