OBTAINING SAFE, LIFE-GIVING CLEAN WATER
When we first met with theleaders of Kisalaya in September, 2014, they determined that one of the three major areas of the village needing to be addressed was the need for the development of clean water resources. We could see that previous western nations had constructed shallow wells in the community but did so without involving the local people. All of those wells deteriorated and are no longer functional. The local people were never taught how to build, maintain and/or repair them. Their currant primary source of water is an underground stream that comes out of the ground at the contaminated river, which is not a reliably safe source of clean water. We agreed to work side-by-side with the leaders and people of Kisalaya to construct a deep well water system that could provide consistently clean and safe water. We knew this project would take some time but, in the end, the local people would have helped to build it and would know how to maintain, repair and regularly manage the quality of the water.
In April, 2015 we drilled the first two of multiple wells to come in the community of Kisalaya. Using the services of the Holy Water Group, the people of Kisalaya learned how to construct, maintain and repair these simple wells that are providing clean water. One well was constructed in a barrio (neighborhood) near the Rio Coco on the north end of the village and the other was installed at the medical clinic near the center of the village. The specially designed unit used to hand dig the wells was left with the community so those who had been trained could continue to install wells after we were gone. Since then, we have provided a second well drilling kit to Kisalaya. Now, instead of going to the river to get water, clean water was now available – the first step in helping rid the community of the waterborne parasites, bacteria and viruses that cause so many intestinal problems. One of our team members, took leadership to work with the wells. God had been putting all of this together and had coordinated everything for all three parts of the clean water plan to come together at the same time!
The second part of the clean water plan was the distribution of one five gallon water only container with a screw-type lid to each of the more than 300 families in Kisalaya. This was so important because it was the second means of clean water protection in bringing the water home from the well. Working with our contact in Managua, he was able to secure these containers for us. They were in the Managua warehouse of the company in Waspam who transported them to Kisalaya. God was faithful to provide a large donation to purchase these containers so every family could have one.
The third part of this process was the training the community nurse provided the families on clean water management. She taught each family how to manage their clean water to minimize contamination. We could only praise God for this important step in increasing the physical health of the community.
As mentioned, SALT provided the well drilling equipment and training to the people of Kisalaya to construct simple wells that now provide clean water to the community. And, as mentioned previously, we provided a second well-drilling kit to expand the ability to create more new wells in the month of April. We learned that April is the ONLY time of year in which we can dig wells. April is the driest month of the year and, if we hit water in an April dig, it usually means the well will produce year-round. But, April is also the time for the harvest of the bean crop and the start-up preparation for the planting of the next rice crop. It’s hard to ask the people to volunteer to do well work when this is a critical time for dealing with crops so the leaders have asked us to partner in the physical labor of well installation. We took teams to work side-by-side with local support. Our goal was to complete sixteen new and refurbished wells to greatly expand the amount of clean water available to the community in just three weeks. We needed to take eight bailer buckets with us from the states as we could not get the parts we need to make them in Nicaragua. We were not able to fulfill that goal at that time, but the work continues even to this day. The well system we used is not perfect, but it worked in the developing nation setting and was far cleaner than wells installed in the past by previous organizations. For those using our existing wells, sickness was and has not been reported by those drawing water from the SALT wells in six years.
We also did work for the local school in Kisalaya. Working with the principal of the school, we were able to complete the construction of a new well for the school as well as the refurbishing of new outhouses for the students and staff. The greatest accomplishment was that the local people asked our team to step off the job and allow them to finish these two projects on their own. We stepped off and they completed the two projects on time, under budget and everything worked perfectly. It was hard for our workers to step aside, but it was about the local people becoming self-sufficient in many areas and this was one. We thought this transition would take five years and God saw to it that it happened in only two and a half. The local people have hand-drilled multiple wells (2) at the SALT house for community and a few hundred gallons of water are drawn from these wells every day.
In addition, SALT has provided a well drilling kit to the village of Kururia. The trained well-drilling people from Kisalaya went to Kururia and taught the people of Kururia to drill and construct their own wells again with good success, having completed multiple wells this village.
The need is far from met, however. Many more wells are needed in both villages. Today we are able to purchase all the parts we need to construct the well proper and the bailer bucket to go with it. The cost to construct a well is currently $425 per well, which is very inexpensive to provide clean, life-giving water to the people of Kisalaya and Kururia. These wells have no actual moving parts and, therefore, last for years. The one item we have to replace often is the rope to let down and pull up the bailer buckets. Now that we are looking into the next village to share these wells, the people from Kururia, who were taught by the people of Kisalaya, will teach the people of the next village we serve. Please pray that we will be able to construct still more wells through the power of God!
If anyone reading this feels led to give financially to help construct a clean water well, you may send donations to Seeds And Love Together, Inc., PO Box 16656, Wilmington, NC 28408. Or you may make your donation through our secure donation page on our web site. Your gifts are fully tax deductible. Also, we are part of Amazon Smiles and, when you order from Amazon, you can donate to us as well. Thanks in advance for your prayers and your gifts! Both one time and ongoing gifts are appreciated at any level, no matter how small!
