See those tall hills behind these adorable girls? Before they had a borehole, this community had to climb/walk over two or three of those to get to water!! Once they had a well (borehole) their lives changed. One of my board members is a nurse in a nearby clinic. She said with clean water, she began to notice a decrease in the diseases these villagers brought to her. Also noted was more smiles on faces, better hygiene, and better health for their livestock,
Last July, the generator failed and once again they had to depend on seasonal rivers and scummy ponds for all their water needs.
So they met with me in August and after pursuing repairs on their broken generator, it was determined that repairs would be too expensive and a new generator was a better solution. They sold animals and raised half of the money. I told them I would try to raise the other half.
What is pictured in this blog is the delivery of the new generator and what it means to these people after 7 months of trekking for water. On that day in early February, the generator house was a busy location as they watched the delivery truck off load the new generator and waited for it to get connected.
The anticipation was palpable as we drove up to join them for this glorious day. Smiles were everywhere because they had experienced clean water for several years and have suffered greatly when it was no longer available.
This man normally manages the water program, so he was very interested in all the ins and outs of the new machine.
The man in the middle is from the company installing the generator. This was the official handover of the new machine after it was connected.
Now comes the fun. The new generator was cranked up. In the picture below, everyone is looking at the dials on the meter as water once again flows through the pipes.
This picture doesn't show much, but I took a short video and wow! those dials were spinning. Everyone was clapping and cheering to see that reality once again.
I asked the ladies to take me to the faucet they use to fill their containers. The children came along, and this is the result. When I was a child, we were allowed to play in the water hose on hot summer days in Texas. This reminded me of that. Fresh, clear, cold water from 900 feet underground was pouring forth and they wanted to be wet all over!
The ladies had fun spraying the kids, but they couldn't resist putting their hands in the flow also.
Priceless smiles! That's not sweat! That's cool water on a very hot day.
The kids were pushing and shoving to be next!
Over and over again.
I couldn't resist this precious picture.
They all wanted in on the joy of water!
I don't know how old this little girl is. I'm guessing 11ish. These young girls often care for their siblings so mom can do her chores. See the joy on her face?
This little cutie just couldn't contain herself!
More Smiles and giggles
This lady wanted her picture taken on front of the tank. She was overjoyed.
Praise time and prayers of thankfulness.
Children singing
A time of sharing.
And as on any special occasion, a goat must die! So while we were snapping pictures, they walked the goat to this area and slaughtered it, then cooked it. I have to say, it was the best goat I have ever eaten.
Thumbs up says it all!
Those of us who come from First World just can't realistically imagine the joy of cool, fresh, clean water. Thank you for making this possible for these precious people.
