Mom's Water Week

This post is about many experience with water the week of January 18 -24.  It started with a visit on Tuesday to Naluyanda Health Clinic where we have been trying to refurbish a solar well.  On the way we stopped for a short visit at the school.  There was a class room of students inside equal in amount to all of our grandchildren.  But outside there were another group of students and it didn't take long before they were being taught about the parts of the body.

 

 

We went to the Clinic to encourage their committee to collect funds so they could pay for part of the expense of repairing the well.  The amount needed is 600 kwacha which is equivalent to $55.   On Wednesday we traveled to Chongwe to meet our drilling company so we could take them to the sites in Mulenje.  We waited most of the day in Chongwe while they had 3 flat tires repaired.  With the help of our ace negotiator (CKB) we were able to convince them that they needed to go to Mulenje School and spend the night instead of returning to Lusaka.  That way they would be ready to drill in the morning.  We arrived, as promised, at 6 a.m. and waited for them to get ready.  Someone was real happy when they started drilling.

 

 

So while the drilling is going on what else is there to do.  We are drilling at the community school so there are children, some of which are there but can't go to school because they have no money for the school fees.  They are going to get taught something anyhow.

 

 Later in the day we moved the the second location, Nkhokoma community, to drill a second borehole.  We finished late that night but during the drilling you know who found Grama.  The kids.

 

 

This one was one of Mom's favorites.

 

 

 Because we started drilling this one late in the afternoon we left our site monitor there to stay with the locals overnight. We arrived home after 21 hour and then prepared to return the next morning by 7:30. Again we had to wait for the crew to get up and going. The next boreholes to drill was at Kapandila community. Here we set up by a big tree.

 

 

We drilled and then the excitement happened as they were flushing the well.

 

 

There was plenty of water and too much pressure and the poly pipe they were using to blow compressed air into the hole came flying out like a 60 meter long snake.  You don't want to get hit by that pressurized pipe.  We finished here and then moved on to the next site, Chindola B community.  It was late in the day when we started but the kids still found Grama.

 

 

 

We didn't finish that one the same day as they drilled but lost some of the casing in the hole when the glue failed to hold on one of the joints.  It was late and the men were tired so we stopped and returned the next morning at 6 to flush and then move to the last site, Mweetwa.  Here Grama and the kids found a front row seat as the action started.

 

 

And here we are at the end of drilling the last hole with Abinala Daka, the Mulenje Village Secretary; Steven Manyoma, the Village Advisor to the Head Woman; Darius Banda, our engineer; and the missionaries. 

 

 

That water was not to be out done.  We went to Matero Ward the next day, Sunday, to witness the baptism  of two of the children Mom had taught in Primary. All were Mom's water related events in one week.