By Ibrahim Sesay
Africa Cooperation Solidarity International Development (AFRISID) in partnership with Caritas Freetown has, on Saturday February 28, commissioned a modern solar-powered water well or facility in Grafton geared towards providing residents safe and reliable drinking water.
The project, titled: “A House of Healing and Growth: Water as a Common Good,” was financed by the Waldensian Church through its “Otto per Mille” (Eight per Thousand) initiative and led by AFRICSID in collaboration with local partners.
The facility consists of a modern borehole water tower with a submersible pump and powered by a fully sustainable solar energy system. It is expected to provide clean, reliable and accessible water to the Grafton community.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Simon Kabba Koroma, President and Legal Representative of AFRICSID, said the initiative was inspired by years of witnessing water challenges in the community.
Simon Kabba Koroma said his engagement with Grafton began in 2001 shortly after the civil war, when he volunteered with War Widows for Christ and God’s Will Children Orphanage Home. During a visit in 2012, after studying in Italy, he initially intended to construct a building for widows but changed plans after observing residents walking long distances to fetch unsafe drinking water.
“When I went back to Italy, I started to put aside small savings geared towards providing safe drinking water,” he said, adding that friends later supported the effort. In 2023, the borehole project was approved and drilled. However, after seeing pregnant women and young mothers struggling with the manual pump, he sought further funding to upgrade the system to a solar-powered facility.
Simon Kabba Koroma stressed that development should not be left to Government alone. “We cannot always rely on Government. We have to play our part,” he said, urging the community to put mechanisms in place to ensure the project’s sustainability.
Rev. Fr. Peter Konteh, Executive Director of Caritas Freetown, described water as “the essence of life” and a foundation for human dignity. He noted that access to safe and reliable water remains a daily challenge for many families across Sierra Leone and the wider African continent.
Citing recent statistics, he said over 60 percent of rural households in Sierra Leone lack access to safely managed drinking water services, with many communities depending on contaminated streams and unprotected wells. Across Africa, he added, more than 400 million people still lack access to clean water close to their homes.
“Without water, there is no health, no education, no economy; only hardship,” he said, calling on Government, civil society, faith-based organisations and development partners to invest in sustainable water infrastructure and promote water conservation and hygiene practices.
Speaking on behalf of the headman and councillor, Mohamed S. Koroma said the community had faced water shortages for years and expressed appreciation to the project partners.
“For a long time, our children have been struggling, walking long distances in search of water,” he said, assuring benefactors that the community would develop rules and regulations to protect the facility. He described sustainability as the most important aspect of the project.
In recognition of Simon Koroma’s contribution, he announced that the street where the facility is located would be renamed “Simon Street.”
Margaret Tucker, representing War Widows for Christ and God’s Will Children Orphanage, commended Simon Kabba Koroma’s long-standing commitment to community service and urged residents to safeguard the facility to ensure it benefits future generations.
The facility is expected to greatly improve access to potable water in Grafton and contribute to better health and social development in the community.
