SOLOMON SESAY
It takes grit to fight a crisis. The grit that makes beauty out of tragedy. This kind of grit is making the water crisis history in Sierra Leone.
Solomon Sesay was born in the Tonkolili district, Sierra Leone, but his childhood was anything but ordinary. The Sierra Leone Civil War broke out when Solomon was a child, taking the lives of both his mother and father.
After the loss of his parents Solomon was relocated to Wellington Orphanage in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was raised into the man he is today. At Wellington, Solomon received an education and later attended Njala University, now holding a diploma in Agriculture.
“Solomon and I have known each other since 2011 when we began working on projects together in Sierra Leone,” said Water4 Director of Implementation, Richard Moore. “As our relationship has grown over the years I have seen his hard work and commitment pay off as he graduated college, joined a water well drilling team, was promoted to a quality controller with our partner in Sierra Leone, and now in his champion role with Water4. I am glad that Solomon is part of our Water4 Champion Team and family.”
As quality controller, Solomon oversees the work of three drilling enterprises and is also the Anglophone Quality Control Champion for Water4, ensuring that all standards in English speaking countries are met in borehole construction, development and well apron design. He is able to operate remotely thanks to the use of the mWater app and WhatsApp. Through the technology of mWater, the Water4 monitoring and evaluation platform, Solomon reviews well logs and evaluates each water project.
Through the years, Solomon has seen the effects of the water crisis in his community. “The lack of clean drinking water has affected me and my relatives especially during the civil war in Sierra Leone, leading to disease conditions of diarrhea and cholera,” Solomon said. “Clean drinking water is a key factor to healthy living.”
Solomon has helped eradicate the water crisis this year and will continue to do so in the coming years. To date, he’s participated in over 75 wells providing access to over 33,000 people. In 2018, Solomon will be engaging with Water4 partners across Afica, conducting randomized tests of the projects being completed to further ensure quality standards are being met.
Hard work, determination and grit are just a few of the strengths Solomon brings to the Water4 team. We're so thankful God led him to where he is today as he fights the water crisis in Sierra Leone.