moments

This year was different. Yes, I had the same partner, worked in the same areas, drove the same truck, did the same dedication services. Yes, the wells all seem to run together in the evenings when we were trying to remember the small special things from the different wells. But there are, of course, different things that stick out.

--one headman said that he was so grateful for the well on behalf of his and surrounding villages because now the women can stop fighting over the small amounts of unclean water they have been able to find in the area.

--we installed a second well in a couple villages. They are very large villages and the headman said that with only one well, the women were getting up very early and still not getting home until midday. Other women were using open holes and dirty water because the wait was so long.

--a headwoman expressed her appreciation for our coming to install the well. She said that even after they had dug the hole, and bricked it in, and covered it, she couldn't figure out how we would ever get water to come out of the hole. And now she had seen it done!

--my favorite this year --
--a young Malawian child ran TO me in tears...I'm very used to them running away in fear but this was a first! When we arrived, I greet as many people as I can, adults and children. She just looked at me -wouldn't say anything or give me a thumbs up. At the end of our dedication we were lining up for the picture. And the villagers and Jan and the field officer tried to get this little girl into the picture. She would have none of it and ran to me and buried her face in my skirt. I wondered whether she realized that she'd picked an azungu. After I took the picture I rubbed her back some and she then looked up at me and took my hand. Everyone was shocked.

dry wells

There were many more dry wells this year than there have been before. After the flooding last December in Malawi, the rains didn't come and there has been a drought. How they were able to have a flood and a drought in the same year is hard to imagine but it has happened. And it has made life even harder both for finding water and for the bad harvest that came out this year.

The first thing done when we come to install a well is to measure the depth of the well and the depth of the water in the well. Drop the pipe down and pull it back up to measure where it is wet. Our computer program wants a depth of 2 meters (6 feet) and asks if it is less than that why you think it is ok to install. At the very end of dry season (which is when we install) it is ok to not have 2m of water...the rains are on the way and with at least 2 feet it should be ok. But 6 inches will not do.

Of course by the time the measuring and installing have gotten under way, we volunteers have been greeting and singing and dancing with anyone who is there. It is so hard to stop the celebration when there is no water. At 2 of the villages we found, they continued to sing and dance after the explanation. The explanation of not being able to install because the well isn't deep enough and that they will have to take to top off, dig it deeper and then we can return to install. At the third, they didn't want to see us go.

In Africa it is often part of the culture to tell you what you want to hear. To agree to whatever even with the knowledge that it won't get done. And I think that third village thought we were telling them that we'd be back without meaning it. Possibly they had been waiting a month or more since the well had been dug and covered for the team to come and install. And now we're leaving again.

We did make it back to 2 of the villages (and the Malawi team will get back to the others before the rains) and I got to dance and sing again.

In many of the headman speeches at the end if the dedication services they mention how they didn't believe it would ever really happen. That the well would never really get finished. That we were an answer to their prayers. What a blessing. We come to bless others with the gift of water and yet feel blessed ourselves at the sharing of joy.

Want to sponsor a well? Become a volunteer? Check out www.mmmwater.org or let me know!

3 weeks!?!

Wow! The 3 weeks have flown by and with no Internet connection in site! Jan and I moved to Mponela after the first week to work with Wilfred again. The next 2 weeks we were covering 'familiar' territory (we worked here last year) and even started recognizing some of the turns and bumps in the road. Our grand total was installing 102 wells! We were very excited. And on the last night we found out that MMM over the 6 weeks installed 2513 wells! That is roughly 377,000 people with better access to clean, safe drinking water!