Water Institute Update

The Water Institute of South Sudan, a subsidiary of WFSS, recently completed three training programs in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, South Sudan, to equip 27 individuals with valuable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) skills. 

Training Courses Completed:

• Rope pump production

  • Equipped participants with the knowledge needed to fabricate rope pumps using pipes and old tires. Trainees successfully created six pumps with supervision.

• Manual drilling (Mzuzu)

  • Trained participants in manual drilling skills to utilize in private businesses.

• Water for Agriculture

  • Gained an understanding of utilizing clean water sources for crops and livestock.

In total, 21 women and six men participated in the programs, and all trainees actively engaged in their respective trainings. The availability of tools, training materials (including video clips of previous programs), a well-performing welding machine, and translators for non-English speaking participants made hands-on training effective. 

Challenges included:

• Working under extremely hot weather affected the timing of the theory training, especially during the afternoon hours. This piece of the training was shifted to the morning so that hands-on practice could occur during the afternoon under the open garage.

• Due to increased material prices in the market, the number of pumps that trainees could produce was limited.

• Due to the limited availability of drilling materials (pipes, 6mm ropes, etc.) in Wau, future materials must be purchased in Kampala, Uganda.

• The length of training programs needs to be increased. This challenge was managed by adding training hours on the weekends. Future trainings will be scheduled for three weeks to ensure all learning objectives are finalized during weekday hours. 

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