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Angola - Cameroon - Ethiopia - Ghana - Kenya - Mozambique - Senegal - Sierra Leone - Sudan - Tanzania - Uganda - Zimbabwe
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In Nov/Dec, 2009, a group from Water4 traveled to Ethiopia and then to Angola (an overall 40-day trip!) to conduct various water projects. Utilizing a combination of tools, including the Hydromissions 6" auger, a modified EXP-50 system, and a pump of their own design, the team sent us the following report... HydroLog (submitted by Steve Stewart of Water4): Upon completion of the demonstration well in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, the second leg of the trip was to join with World Vision in Luanda, Angola. Knowing that there were some uncertainties with our shipment clearing customs, the decision was made to depart for Huambo (an 8 hour drive southeast of Luanda and an area of focus for WV) to begin procurement of needed items. As is often the case, this at first appeared to be a monumental task. But as the time passed waiting on the crate, finding the needed items in Huambo became less challenging. After we were successful in locating all the items that are essential for in-country acquisition (galvanized steel pipe for the drilling structure, square steel tubing for the augers, PVC for casing and pump, filter pack sand and sieve, concrete, etc), we continued to source many of the items that would be required for sustained efforts as well (hand tools, specialty tools like pipe threaders and vises, and many of the raw materials and resources for actual production of drilling equipment and hand pumps). The time also allowed for rare opportunities to talk through a little geology, a few principles of physics, and the basics of well drilling and hand pumps before the actual work began.The site selected for the well was a piece of land that separated World Vision’s “Best Practices” location from a small rural community (10 kilometers southwest of Huambo). The morning that I was taken to view the location, I was informed that the site already had two failed borehole attempts (Dec 08). Both holes were left open as was the large settling pit that is used with rotary drill rigs. The first borehole was 8 meters deep and stopped abruptly when the previous drillers struck rock. The second was not as clear as to why the drilling company had abandoned it but there was an indication that the amount of water would not warrant setting a hand pump. It measured 10.5 meters deep with 1.5 meters of static water. With the potential of needing to expedite training (due to the customs delay), plans were made to use the second borehole as a ready-made learning opportunity and a perfect training site to demonstrate how to set casing, complete a well and run in an Access hand pump. My involvement in Water4’s previous project involved drilling wells in Ambato, Ecuador and in a region two hours outside of Manaus, Brazil. At both of these locations, our drilling efforts (auger and hollow-rod methods) were stopped by formations that continued to collapse (quicksand). Upon returning to the states, an effort was undertaken to research methods to deal with “quicksand” formations so that deeper zones could be explored with a hand-powered device. The integration of scaled-down “cable tool” bits and a bailer and the addition of a larger diameter auger (to allow for the possibility of telescoping the casing) were the theoretical solution and sets of these new tools were packed and shipped to both Ethiopia and Angola. With the arrival of the crate in Huambo, the tools were transported to the drill site and the tripod was positioned above the second of the predrilled boreholes. The bailer was sent down-hole to begin investigating the reason for its incompletion. After the removal of a variety of debris (branches, rocks, a bottle, and several mangos), the geological evidence being removed was very familiar: quicksand. As with Water4’s efforts in South America, this zone put a stop to the small rotary drilling rig in Huambo too. When the rotary driller encountered this zone, the machine’s circulation was lost as the formation consumed the drilling mud and, without the ability to raise cuttings, the rotary drilling effort was stopped. Now, we had both the perfect training opportunity and a chance to move a theoretical solution into a practical application. We purchased two 6” x 6 meter PVC pipes (straightening one by heating over an open fire and rolling on flat ground) and prepared the hole by increasing the downward pressure of the larger 6” auger to ensure that we could push through the quicksand and make contact with the upper boundary of the next geological zone. Accurate depth readings were recorded and the large PVC pipe was lifted into position and then ceremoniously dropped down the hole. The second 6” pipe was used to pile-drive the first pipe to the exact depth required to progress past the problematic formation. The drilling effort then continued with the next smaller size auger (5”) slipping inside the 6” PVC pipe and boring through sticky clay. Less than half a meter further, an ideal large grained water-bearing sand was encountered. Saturation was evident as clear water quickly separated from the sand bringing a renewed enthusiasm to the team. Progress continued for two more meters before time dictated the need to set casing and proceed with the training to finish the well. The borehole stood unsupported from the surface to the quicksand zone at 10.5 meters (this same stability was evident in the hand dug wells in the area), the 6” x 6 meter PVC pipe was inserted from 5 meters to 11 meters. The primary water-bearing zone was encountered between 11.5 and 12 meters. Total depth of the borehole was 13.5 meters with 4.5 meters of static water. 4” casing was installed from just above total depth to one half meter above ground level (bottom 3 meters slotted). A filter pack of course grain sand was installed from 7.5 meters to the total depth of 13.5 meters. A 6” cement cap was poured on top of the filter pack to isolate the water-bearing zones from the surface. The remaining annulus was filled with native soil to within three feet of the surface. The next 5 hours were spent conditioning the well and noting the increased clarity and recovery rates. We concluded the day with a continuous pour of concrete to plug the upper three feet of annulus, fill the protective bollard, and form a 1.5 meter x 125 mm rock lined apron. The following day was used to prepare and install an Access 1.2 hand pump. From taking final depth measurements (to accurately position the pump down-hole), to cutting, threading, and precisely setting the correct stoke of the handle, the installation went perfectly. Rarely do the combination of aptitude and interest converge as I observed in my trainee Mendonça. And even more rare is the opportunity to witness the frontline personnel of such an admirable organization as World Vision. I greatly enjoyed my time in Angola and look forward to supporting future efforts as well as returning to Huambo very soon. (top)
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In February, 2007, we traveled to this Northwest African nation to train several local and international missions groups in hand augering and in soap-making. All of the details and logistics were coordinated by nationals. We worked from Bamenda, with the project being in Ntem, a village of about 2000 people. We drilled one of only 2 wells that have water during the dry season, and it is located in a primary school serving 132 kids (part of the Cameroon European Union Cooperation). Soap training was given to about 30 people, including one local pastor who hopes to use this new skill as an outreach to Muslims in the north of the country. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to leave an EXP-50 drill rig in the care of locals. (top) HydroLog: 02/15/07-02/24/07. Location: N 06 19.420, E 011 02.153. Elevation: 791 meters. Well site at Ntem primary school. Site #1: Sandy clay at surface to 2.5ft, then red clay to 9ft. Changed to clay with "chalk" stone to 12ft. Ran into rock at 12 ft. Site#2: Moved 5ft toward school from site #1. Red clay to 15ft, then clay with white "chalk". At 21ft, turned to sticky, clumpy chalk & clay mix. Drilled to 30ft on day 1 - clay moist but not damp. Day 2, drilled to 33ft. Now 60/40 chalk/clay mix. Water hit at 36ft. At 41ft, clay changed to gray with sand, then gray with gravel. Well cased at 43ft with 10.8 ft water column. Health center (2 km away) is only public access well (12 meters) to have water during dry season. Equipped with Afridev/India metal pump. Hand dug well nearby 33ft with water at 27ft Pump Supplies: "Vente der machines". Located in Bafoussam (between Douala & Bamenda). Phone 966-02-06 or 344-41-56. Afridev type pump or electric pump complete down to 18 meters = 200,000 fr.
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In July, 2008, we traveled to this East African nation to work with BEZA International Ministries in an effort to help them expand their ministry to an isolated AIDS community on top of Entoto Mountain. In cooperation with the orthodox church, we were able to drill the first shallow bore hole well. Locals carried out most of the process, and many more wells are planned throughout the community (nearly 3000 people). Soap making as a microeconomic enterprise was taught to over 110 people. In addition, an appropriate water technologies seminar was conducted in Addis Ababa, with 50 representatives from various NGO's in attendance. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to leave an EXP-50 drill rig in the care of BEZA to continue to drill on Entoto and in southern Ethiopia. This rig will also serve as a demo unit for other NGO's to replicate the work. (top) HydroLog: 07/18/08-07/31/08. Location: N 09 05.660, E 038 45.858. Elevation: 2998 meters. Well site on Entoto Mt. near village area of nearly 3000 people. Dense eucalyptus forest with hard rock boulders. Site #1: Ran into rock at 3 ft. Site#2: Moved 1ft from site #1. Red/white clay to 22ft, then moist, gray clay. At 25ft, turned to moist, dark gray clay with small stone particles. At 30ft, change to moist, burnt umber clay. At 33 ft changed to white/gray, sandy clay with quartz-like stones. Water hit at 35ft. Drilled to 38 ft and hit rock. Well cased at 38ft with 6.5 ft water column.Closest previous water source is contaminated (cattle run-off) spring approximately 3/4 mile away. Pump Supplies: "Central Building Materials & Machineries". Located in textile district of Addis Ababa. Phone 0911-20 84 18 or 0911-04 77 02 or 0111-11 17 72, email: eliastradingest@yahoo.com. Afridev pump (head only) 7,000 birr. India MkII pump (head only) 6,500 birr, (cylinder only) 1,200 birr. Money Maker (treadle to 28ft) pump 2,200 birr.
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In March,
2010, Hydromissions, in partnership with
Rescue Aid Foundation (RAF)
worked in 2 villages to address water issues. Adawukwaa,
located in Ghana's central region proved to be difficult for
drilling by hand (a lot of rock), however, the village already had
the means for distillation of a cane sugar alcohol product.
Although we were not able to put a well into that village, we are
looking to work with RAF and village elders to convert an abandoned
still into a water purification station. We then moved on to
the Volta region (Togbui Zonyibah Ativedome) and drilled a
successful well there, improving the quality of the water supply
(they were using a pond), and reducing the walk for water by 2
miles. This was also the first field trip for our Associates,
Scotty and Christine Longmire. A very successful trip all
around. For more details, visit
the Longmires' Blog. HydroLog: Sadly, our gps did not have a global base map, so no coordinates available. Adawukwaa: Multiple drill sites. Sand for 3ft, then sand/clay mix. Sandstone encountered around 10ft, then consolidated rock at 12ft. All sites abandoned. Volta: Moist sand for 1-2ft, then gray/blue clay with sand 3-5ft. Water hit at 5ft. Continued through gray clay with quartz like particles to 17ft. Well cased at 17ft, slow recharge rate. Bailer bucket installed and water flow improved to useful over following day. Pump Supplies: "Yaaba Ent", Box sc47, Tema. Tel. 00233-22205917. Various pvc and valve components (not pump specific). "Foundries & Agricultural Machinery, LTD", famsrm@4u.com.gh, Tel. (233-22) 304113 or 306403. Meera (Indian) distributor. India MkII handpump to 100 ft, $2000 USD. Afridev to 100 ft, $1000 USD. Afridev foot valve only, $150 USD. Hands of Mercy took an EXP-50 with them in May, 2006. The motto of the group is "a hand up, not a hand out." We like that. June/July of 2007 will see Every Child Ministries engaged in a water-based community outreach. They will be using solar pumps in conjunction with hand drilled wells. The team plans on drilling in various areas throughout the country. (top)
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Our
September, 2006 trip to Kenya far exceeded even what we had expected
(and we had expected a lot)!
A successful well was drilled, several new technologies were
introduced, soap-making was taught, and above all, the gospel was
clearly and consistently given in word and deed.
Through this project three tribes (Kipsigis, Kikuyu, and Masai)
came together for extensive training in well drilling in Reresik (a
community of about 1000 families near Roret and Kericho).
They will use their new knowledge as they continue to serve as
local missionaries to neighboring communities.
For
our time in Nairobi, we were privileged to connect with some of the team
from
CBMI (Christian Blind Mission
International), whom we first met in Mauldin, SC - just a mile from
our home. Small world.
In addition, this trip was the pilot program for our soap making
training.
It was met with great success and excitement to the point that
the community intends to make a go of commercial soap production for
their local market. Pump Supplies: "Afripumps (Kenya) Limited", PO Box 48624 Nairobi, Phone: 802604; "Kenya Water handpump Ltd", Mr. Ravi Gandhi, P.O. Box 49745 Nairobi, Phone: 254-254-26-87; "Industrial Components (Kenya) Ltd." (Molded Plastic Parts), P.O. Box 65017 Nairobi, Phone: 802301.
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A team of medical missionaries is
working with
Mercy Air on an
on-going project in Chimoio (west of Beira). The team assists a medical clinic that has become an orphanage for over 400
abandoned children. Through various trips, they hope to equip
the clinic/orphanage with livestock, medical and educational supplies,
and a more adequate water supply. The group left two
EXP-50's in August,
2005, and trained the
locals on how to drill, which may become a source of income for the
local community.
(top)
Pump Supplies:
"Stenaks Trading & Shipping
Ltd.", Mr. Jan
van Hoorn, Caixa Postal 1028 Maputo, Phone: 258-146-57-33. |
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In
November
2006, we had the privilege of sending Ralph Quin to Senegal to serve
with a team from
Rocky
Creek Baptist Church in South Carolina. Ralph went along to
assess the water situation and to evaluate possible solutions. The
team was not able to drill a well (volcanic rock was hit at about 15
feet, and current wells were hand dug to about 200 feet over a very
long period of time). However, success is not measured in gallons
per minute, and the trip proved to be a valuable tool in creating
in-roads to a people group that had been previously hard to reach.
The drilling equipment was left with local missionaries to serve in
other, more suitable areas of Senegal. Our hope and prayer is that
the efforts seen during this trip will help to further relationships
with the people of Senegal, and that the door will be open for many
more to hear the gospel.
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In February, 2008,
a group from Anderson, SC traveled to the Kondie Community of Sierra
Leone. The area is mostly Muslim, but many have come to Christ
through free medical clinics (water will play a large part in future
clinics as well). As for the drilling, the first hole was
plugged accidentally by a rock accidentally kicked in the hole by a
young helper. The second hole hit a big rock. The US team ran
out of time, but the locals ended up finishing the well (photo #2).
Our thanks to
Living Water International for graciously providing a
nice hand pump for the completed well - always fun to partner with
you guys. Future trips are planned to establish another
medical clinic in a more remote location. This is just the
beginning...
(top)
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In November, 2005, Hydromissions
sent our first official consultant to southern Sudan with a team from
Branches
to Sudan. The group brought out an
EXP-50 and some
VK-01
pump kits to this extremely remote area. Three wells were
attempted, but no water was struck (see logs below). However, the
measure of success is not in the water, but in the power of God to
change lives. Locals were thoroughly trained in drilling and pump
assembly. In addition, several promising follow-up drill sites
were identified for the locals to drill on their own - a success that is
far better for the villagers in the long run than if the foreign team
had done it themselves. Please continue to pray for the people of
this harsh area, and for the continued outreach of
Branches
to Sudan. For an excellent article (published by the South
Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources) about this Sudan experience,
click
here. HydroLog: 11/17/05 - 12/03/05. Location: N 10˚ 00' 40.8", E 30˚ 11' 37.0". Well #1. Total depth of 35ft, 8-inches. No water found. Location: N 10˚ 00' 58.2", E 30˚ 11' 20.0". Well #2. Total depth of 12ft, 2-inches. No water found. Location: N 10" 00' 58.5", E 30" 11' 29.9". Well #3. Total depth of 10ft, 2-inches. No water found. (top)
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It all
began with several trips to Tanzania by groups from the St. Paul area.
Upon their return, they had a dream. This dream was to provide clean,
safe drinking water for the villages in Central Tanzania. They had seen
firsthand the tremendous need for clean and safe water. They had
witnessed women and children (and sometimes men) spending many hours
manually hauling water long distances, which is unproductive and leads
to an unhealthy lifestyle. Someone hauling water for hours each day is
not making money, not in school, and not teaching. In Tanzania, 44% of
the population get their water from unprotected sources. They don't wash
enough or drink enough water. Therefore, they fall prey to diseases and
dehydration. 68% of the people there are affected by water-borne
diseases due to lack of safe, clean water.
This group started meeting to get ideas as to what they could do to
help. It has grown from the once-small group working with Bega Kwa Bega
(Don and Eunice Fultz- the companion congregation coordinatiors) to
approximately 70 people from 27 different congregations. This group
is now known as the
St. Paul Partners for the ELCT-Iringa Diocese Water
Development Program. They have partnered with Bega Kwa Bega, the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania,
Lifewater International, the Tanzanian government, and the village water
committees, for the purpose of providing local villages with a safe,
clean, and adequate water supply within a reasonable walking distance.
The plan is to do this by drilling simple medium depth wells,
and by repairing existing wells where needed. HydroLog: 05/22/05. (by Keith Olson of St. Paul Partners). We started out at the first site, Sokoine. We toured of their water holes. They made me sick to see. We looked at many possibilities before deciding on one near the church Herb and Robert were helping the Massi build. The auguring want slowly but in about 2 hours we were down about 17 feet and had no sign of water. Then a couple on Massi came by and said we were in the wrong place and should try over by an other tree about 200 meters away. There was some discussion and we finally told them that if they wanted to move they would have to do the digging. They said they would and started. After eating the 3 of us headed back to site 1 to “pick the drilling crew”. They were down to about 50 feet and into some sandstone. Thursday we “dropped” the crew at Sokione Kibaoni and want to Parakuyo Mgudeni. The workers the Massi had hired were down to 35 feet and were really doing a good job. They had figured how to use the ‘slip”, a device used to hold the square rod while you are raising or lowering the augur. Friday we want back to the auguring at Parakuyo Mgudeni. They had gotten down to 50 feet and still had not hit water. We bought/made some square tubing with holes in it so they could go to 60 feet. We asked them if we could go to a water hole they had showed us on Tuesday and drill a test hole there. They were not so sure but finally agreed and we did just that. It was of course a “setup” as we knew we would hit water there. They augured about 4 feet and hit the water. They then want an other 5 feet and I showed them how a home made bailer, we had made, worked. They liked it but did not want to put a casing in the ground to get the good clean water as they said “robbers from the near by village” would steal it even if we cemented it in. We asked them if they knew of any places that were similar to this water hole and they said they did. We traveled for about ½ hour in several circles and they finally said “here”. It was a low spot in the ground and had good black dirt that was cracked indicating it had had water on it and was now dried out. We augured to about 4 feet and the dirt turned to mud and the mud to sand and at about 6 feet the auger got hard to pull up. It made a sucking sound and we found water! Everybody was very excited. It started to rain quite hard but the 3 Massi just kept on turning that auger. We were able to recover enough water to bail it. The GPS (Global Positioning System) showed we were only about .4 KM from the other hole we had bore near the church. We left the auger with them and asked them to go to 60 feet with the other hole and even try some new ones if they wanted. Saturday we went to drill site one to finish the reaming down to 57 feet and then a flush. We installed the casing and screen and began bailing. We bailed down to 55 feet and there was no inflow of water and therefore the well is a dry one. This was a real downer abut the good Lord has a reason I am sure. We will find out later. Monday we will verify there is still no water and see about a different site if Herb and Robert say so. We will also augur near the well at a water hole to see if there is a layer of water/sand that could be pumped like the one in Parakuyo Mgudeni. I feel that auguring and drilling in the Morogoro area is a good possibility and will purchase an augur similar to the one we used, for Morogoro. (top) Pump Supplies: "TWSSC Ltd.", Mr. Suraj Kakar, P.O. Box 7 Morogoro, Phone: 255-56-30-42. |
