Success!!

We have successfully installed wells in 2 villages that previously had none! That is so amazing. It is life-changing for so many people.

The villages of Lowuma and Gbeleyankei are now filling buckets of water from a well, instead of from a stream. The wells were completed last week, after I had left the jungle. The well technician, Koko, said that they celebrated by dancing. I wish that I could have been there, but maybe I can go back next year and see it for myself. I'm posting a photo of Gbeleyankei's stream here.

It was such a wonderful experience for me that I dont know for sure where to start recounting it to you. I decided to tell you the good news first - the success - rather than chronologically. I will continue to make postings on the blog with details of the well construction and my experiences.

The work was all done by hand, as there is no power in the villages (just manpower). The whole village was involved in the work, from bringing sand from the creek to lowering the culverts into the wells. I'm posting a few photos here, to whet your appetite. The people are very hard-working and strong. They dug sand out of the stream to mix concrete for the culverts. In Gbeleyankei (pronounced Bee-yan-kay), they carried buckets of sand on their heads for about 1/3 of a mile. I walked out there with them and took photos, but didn't offer to carry anything back. Women much older than me did, though. I've had a comfortable life, that's for sure.

Besides the 2 new wells, we plan to repair 4 wells that are currently not pumping - in Gatema, Konjade, Kenata, and Kalata. The Gatema repair will be substantial, requiring installation of more culverts. The other 3 wells only require the pump to be set deeper, as they are currently above the water level.

More to come.....

Safe and Sound in Billings

I am back in Billings, safe and sound. Well, I'm not so sure about the "sound" part - at least mentally! I'm very jet lagged and tired, so my mind is not too sharp. The trip was 35 hrs, from the time the plane left Monrovia until arrival at the Billings airport. Talk about a marathon.
And now, today is April 15, tax day! What bad timing. I have my extension application ready to mail now. The forms weren't even out when I left in December.
It is really nice to be home again. The cats were happy to see me. I was happy to see them, too, and my bed, and my shower! And good internet access again. My apartment upgraded the speed to 8 Mb/sec. I think it was about 0.4 kb/sec in Monrovia - when it was working. So, I will be able to upload lots of photos. I promise to start that tomorrow.

Forgive the wierd English

I don't know why, but this computer translates to Hebrew and then back to English, so my posting gets changed up a bit. Don't think that I've lost my English language ability! I've tried to fix the "Tyler" thing, but it changes back. So, I think you get the jist of my message, anyway.
Gotta go!
Cindy

I'm in Monrovia again

I am back in Monrovia, staying at the Lutheran Guest House again. I got back late Sunday night. We had an equipment failure and had to get supplies on Monday. I am staying here, though, because there's not enough time for me to go up and come back again. Transportation is a HUGE issue. Anyway, they should be back to work by now and have two wells completed in a few weeks. We got 2 wells dug and one partially cased. We had to build concrete culverts on site, as you can't exactly haul them by foot. And, I think I mis-spoke. I think I said that the villagers would haul the cement in from the end of the road, carrying it on their backs. They don't carry anything on their backs! They carry everything on their head!!
The computer that I have been using has died, and I've been trying to resurrect it. So far, no go. So, I'm borrowing a computer now, and I don't have the ability to post any photos. They will be coming, though. I took over 400 photos.
The best part of my trip was the people. They were so nice. I got to know some of them quite well. I promise that I'll have lots of stories to post later on.
I have been sick for the last few days after returning from up country (the jungle). I think it was a virus, as I feel fine now. I was so thankful for indoor plumbing!!! And water coming from a tap!!! The people at the Lutheran Guest House were concerned about me and even took me to the clinic for a malaria test. It was negative. The girl reading the test was confused at first, because she had never before seen a negative test. They say here that everyone has malaria. They just live with it.
Well, I've imposed enough on a kind person to use their computer. I promise that there will be more postings when I have the opportunity. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. Also, thank you all for supporting the mission. The Kuwaa people need our help so much, and they really appreciate it.
Love,
Cindy

She's baaaack!

Cindy is back in Monrovia! She arrived a couple days ago but hasn't been able to get online yet. The internet is unreliable, but she is working on getting online with an update.

-Bekki

Up-Country

Hi everybody,

Cindy wanted me to let you know she left for up-country and will be back in a few weeks. Hopefully she will be back with good news of two wells installed and many latrines!

Keep her and the mission in your prayers.

-Bekki

And....We're Off!

Not off to the races, and not off our rockers, but off to the bush! Pastor Chris left yesterday with the first of 5 loads of materials and tools for 2 wells in the Kuwaa region. The good people at Lutheran World Federation loaned us their truck for a few weeks. Yes, it will take a few weeks. The road is so bad! You may already be tired of hearing about it. Chris should have arrived with the load last night in Fassama. I won't know anything until he gets back, as there is no cell contact up there. They plan to unload the truck today and rest. Then, tomorrow, they'll head back to Monrovia. We will load the truck on Thursday, and they'll be off again on Friday. This routine will continue (hopefully) until we have all 5 loads up. We expect to have it done by the end of the month. We are storing the materials in an old Connex container in Fassama. There is a lot of old equipment that was left by the logging industry many years ago. We are glad to have the container to store things in. Otherwise, it would be difficult to keep it from being stolen. We asked to have announcements made on the radio to tell the villagers when to arrive to pick up the materials. As I said, there is no cell phone coverage. We don't pick up the radio station here, so I hope that goes well. They should arrive to start carrying loads after the second load from Monrovia is delivered. The well technician will go up on the second trip and walk in to the village with the villagers. There are 25 sacks of cement, well pump, pipe, pump rods, and misc. tools to carry. We will split the sacks of cement in two, bag it in plastic and then rice bags. They have to carry it on their head for about 10 hrs, so 50 pounds is plenty. 100 pounds would be too much. There are 2 villages getting wells. The second village should send people on Feb. 24 to pick up their materials. Pastor Chris will go back and forth with the pickup each time and will be in Fassama to distribute materials. I will go to the first village (Gbeliyankei) next week - Feb. 16. The well technican and I will get that well started. They dig it by hand to about 40 or 50 ft, hauling dirt out with a bucket on a rope. During the dry season (which we are in, right now), the ground is very dry and the hole shouldn't cave in. They dig foot holds into the sides of the hole, to climb up and down. While the hole is being dug, we will cast concrete culverts in 2 ft sections. The hole will be cased with the culverts, which are only a few inches smaller than the hole. We have a pulley to lower the culverts into the well. You should see photos of this when I come back!
We also hope to be able to do repair work on some of the wells in other villages that are not operating. We are bringing a few spare parts. We found about 8 wells that are not working. We will try to educate someone in the village to be able to take care of the well, and I'm preparing log books for them to record the well depth, pump setting depth, work performed, etc.
I also plan to do some education about sanitation. We will have toilets!!! As a card-carrying member of the World Toilet Organization, I will see to it!
I ask for your prayers for the success of the project. It is amazing to think of the difference that we can make in these people's lives! There are about 500 people in each village that will have access to clean water, where all they had before was a muddy stream. It is truly a priviledge for me to be here. I thank you all for your support of the Mission.