Gambia JTP 1 Kerewan
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Zoom in on the Satelite Map (first click on "satelite" and next on the "+" upper left on the Map) to see the exact location in the field.
Sponsored by FairWater + JoinThePipe & Swe-Gam
The community Kerewan in West Gambia received many years ago a well with an India VLOM Pump, but the repairs became more and more frequent and in the end the community could not afford anymore the never ending repairs and had to abandon the pump.
It was very expensive to construct this water point some 15 years ago, about 30.000 US$ and the people thought that all that money was wasted when they could not use the well anymore. This is a typical example of the many non sustainable water projects in Africa. Today, about 70% of the handpumps in Gambia is not functional anymore due to the high maintenance costs of such Inda VLOM pumps.
Rehab demonstration project
To demonstrate how effective rehabilitation of abandoned handpumps can be, FairWater + JoinThePie & Swe-Gam (the Gambia distributor of the BluePump) financed in 2009 the rehab of this old India pump with a BluePump. The old pedestal of the India pump has been used and can still clearly be seen, to show how easy the rehabilitation with the BluePump is, because the base of the BluePump fits directly onto the old pedestal of the India pump. In a later stage the base will be completed and closed completly.
The supervision of the waterpoint is done by a caretaker, who receives a small contribution from each family for this work. Now, with the reliable BluePump and a back-up service of a competent dealer, the community has a safe and secure water supply. People don't have to move now to other locations, they have a sustainable waterpoint and a better future.
Due to the good reputation of the BluePump, communities in Gambia start now to buy BluePumps from Swe-Gam to replace the old and problematic India VLOM pumps. Swe-Gam takes care of the proper installation with one year free guarantee and back-up service later on.
Over 30 BluePumps are already functioning in Gambia.
BluePumps & Micro-Credits
Micro-Credits is also coming up in Gambia and communities are becoming aware of the possibility to use a Micro-Credit to buy a BLuePump. In the end, this is a good long-term investment for them, because the maintenance cost of the BluePump is extreamly low, due to its reliability.
Using micro-credits to buy a more cost-effective water pump is probably the best strategy to achieve a long term sustainable community safe water supply; with the BluePump and a solid private sector backup, this becomes an option.
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