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About this Manual
This Manual is prepared by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) department of Action
Against Hunger (ACF) to facilitate boreholes sustainability. This manual is not a standalone
document but can be used with other operation and maintenance related documents.
Who is this manual for?
This manual is prepared as an elementary guide for
Hand Pump Technicians
that are in-
volved in the major and minor
repairs
of hand pumps in a community. It is also a useful
guide for care takers who are from time to time required to carry out preventative mainte-
nance work on the borehole/water point.
Action Contre la Faim - International Network (ACF-IN) is a professional Non-Governmental
organization (NGO) involved in the fight against hunger. It operates in four technical areas:
nutrition and health
,
food security
,
water, sanitation and hygiene
(WASH) and
advo-
cacy
in order to help the most vulnerable populations regain their food autonomy as means
to life without dependence on external help. In the Uganda Mission, there are programmes
being implemented in Acholi and Lango Regions (
Food Security
,
Nutrition & Health
,
WASH
),
and Karamoja region (
Food security
,
Nutrition & Health
and recently
WASH
).
Across Northern Uganda where ACF operates, deep borehole wells are the most reliable and
secure source of clean water for people. These simple and inexpensive technologies have
revolutionized the way people in developing countries access water.
Borehole wells allow people to tap into groundwater that is not accessible from the surface,
as well as minimize the contamination of the water by surface pollutants by keeping it in a
closed system until it reaches the spout.
Borehole hand pumps use human power and mechanical means to move water in a one-way
direction using a system of suction and discharge valves. The most common model of pump
used in the region is the India Mark II hand pump originally manufactured in India by Apex
Press.
