Stories
July 22, 2025 • 2 min read
In Sierra Leone’s rural communities, the search for clean water is a daily struggle that affects health, education, and livelihoods, especially for women and children. In Nyandehun village, Mariama's story reflects a broader crisis where families are forced to choose between illness and separation. Today, thanks to GOAL’s partnership with charity: water, that story is changing, one community at a time.
The Daily Struggle for Safe Water
In rural Sierra Leone, access to clean and safe drinking water remains a persistent challenge. Underdeveloped infrastructure, seasonal changes, and factors associated with poverty continue to affect communities that rely on unprotected wells, rivers, and streams, often contaminated and unsafe for human consumption. The rugged terrain makes infrastructure development even more difficult, particularly in remote villages.
Women and children are disproportionately affected. They often walk for hours each day to fetch water, sacrificing time that could be spent on education, income-generating activities, or simply resting. The consequences go beyond inconvenience; unsafe water contributes to widespread illness, particularly among young children.
A Mother’s Painful Decision
Mariama, a mother from Nyandehun village in the Malegohun Chiefdom of Kenema District, knows this struggle intimately.
“Imagine walking that distance just to get water that is not pure at all,” she says. “We were getting sick from the water, but we had no option because that’s what was available.”
Her son suffered from constant diarrhoea, and with little access to affordable healthcare, Mariama was forced to make a painful decision: send him away from home in search of better conditions.
“I don’t want to be separated from my child. However, I had to send him to Kenema City after he started having a runny stomach regularly due to drinking the unsafe water. I did not want to risk it,” she recalls. “I got sick, and it is not only me; others were also getting sick here.”
Clean Water, Renewed Hope
To respond to this crisis, GOAL, in partnership with charity: water, has been implementing comprehensive WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) programmes across the Kenema and Moyamba districts. Since 2018, the initiative has established over 400 water points across all 16 chiefdoms in the Kenema District alone.
While these interventions meet urgent needs, they are also designed for long-term impact, ensuring every rural household has reliable access to safe, potable water. In Kenema, over 75% of the district is now covered, which significantly improves public health and eases the burden on women and children.
“We thank God for GOAL’s intervention with the provision of a hand pump well to us,” Mariama says, smiling. “Since then, we have not been experiencing sicknesses related to water.”
