Dear Family and Friends of CEED,
Last week we had the pleasure of witnessing a borehole being drilled at God’s Care School in the village of Kabwoya, Uganda. This school has been requesting a well for three years. I don’t know who donated the money for this well but I wish they could have seen what we saw.
My nephew Dan and his wife Juliet were visiting me in Uganda during the drilling of this well. The drilling process was uneventful. It was a model drill site. The CEED drill team had no equipment failures and no drilling problems. This gave us plenty of time to visit with the children. There are 500 students who attend this school and with the surrounding village over one thousand people will enjoy this well. The children greeted us with smiles and handshakes. They played games with us, sang for us and danced for us. On the second day there they greeted us with gifts of maize, passion fruit, mangoes, pineapple, pumpkins, avocados, and cocoa. Our arms were full of fruits and vegetables. Being entertained by so many children is a bit overwhelming. Dan and I could break away once in a while by getting close to the drill rig. Juliet would spend her time surrounded by curious children.
We played with and enjoyed these children for a couple of days while the drilling was going on. After the drilling was finished and the casing was installed a temporary hand pump was installed. That is when Dan, Juliet and I noticed the “before” clean water events and the “after” clean water events. Before the hand pump was installed, we watched the children politely stand in line for their lunch. We never did notice how often the pit latrines were being used. After the hand pump was installed the children started to pump the clean water out of the ground as fast as they could. On their way to lunch, they would take turns pumping water for each other so they could wash their hands. A path was being worn from the pit latrines to the well. Before clean water, we all ate fruits and vegetables from the trees and gardens. After clean water, the children washed the fruits and vegetables before eating.
God’s Care School previous water supply was over two hundred yards down a hill. It was being used by local wildlife and livestock. The cooks in the kitchen could not boil enough water each day for that many children to wash their hands when needed. The new well is located on a path from the classrooms to the kitchen, up the hill a short way from the pit latrines. The children collected our empty water bottles so they could take clean water to their classrooms. The cooks had a short walk to the well. They could now cook with clean water.
Before having clean water, we never saw the children drink water. I can’t imagine how many of them were suffering from dehydration and headaches. After having clean water, they were drinking water and splashing the cool water on their face and head. The health of these children and the improvements to Kabwoya starts today. All of this was done with a little money and the efforts of six Ugandan men who love doing this work. Thanks for your contributions. Dan, Juliet, and I thank you that we were able to witness this first hand. God bless you.
West
