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Asia |
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Burma
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China -
Indonesia -
Sri Lanka
- Thailand |
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Burma
(see
"Thailand"
for related article)
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China

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In July,
2004, Hydromissions founders, Steve and Jennifer Lorch were
given the great opportunity to return to China after an initial trip in
2001. They met with local believers and trained them in the
concepts and use of hand drilling systems and water ministry. An
EXP-50 demo unit was left behind for additional training purposes and
replication by locals. Several sites were identified for future
water projects to be conducted by the local church as a way to reach
more rural Chinese communities.
HydroLog: 07/17/04
- 07/30/04.
Location:
N
26˚ 26.560’, E 119˚
16.451’, Elevation: 298 ft. Pump demonstration given
on banks of river. This was a remote mountainous region, very
rocky, and generally
not suitable for drilling except near the river valley.
Location:
N
26˚ 04.905’, E 119˚
16.211’, Elevation: 317 ft. Drill demonstration and
basic training in water technology given inside a city environment.
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Indonesia


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In December, 2007 , Hydromissions founders, Steve and Jennifer Lorch
traveled to the island of Sulawesi to work with
New Tribes Mission (NTM). They met with local believers and trained them in
water filtration methods and soap making. This outreach
spanned 3 distinct locations, over 5 sessions, and involved about 25
local and foreign missionaries. An
EXP-50 demo unit was left behind for additional training purposes and
replication by locals, and we believe that unit to be headed to Papua.
One of the encouraging aspects were the simple biosand bucket
filters that were already in use among the rural people (see
pictures above). We were also able to brainstorm ideas with
locals for developing a bamboo/cotton/charcoal filter process.
A technological highlight for us was our introduction to the "tea
test". Some types of unpotable water turn black when a tea
back is placed in contact with it. We are attempting to
investigate exactly what type of reaction is occurring so we can use
this in other areas.
HydroLog:
11/29/07
- 12/13/07.
Location:
S
01˚ 01.625’, E 120˚
26.474’, Elevation: 63 ft.
Water filtration and soap making demonstration given
to roughly 20 local villagers. This was a remote coastal region,
with very shallow (6ft) water table and extremely turbid/dirty wells.
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Sri Lanka


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In December, 2005 - the
one year anniversary of the tsunami - Hydromissions was
invited to work with the
ADF (Asian Disaster
Foundation) to assess pre and
post-tsunami water conditions. The tidal waves hit the southern
coast, causing much devastation, but also contaminating many wells with
debris and salt water. Based in Hikkaduwa, most of our work was
conducted just east of Galle. There is plenty of water in this
area, but most villagers have shallow, open cement wells that are
very prone to contamination. The other alternative is to collect
water from the sporadically serviced community tanks (see picture
below), which are definitely no guarantee of cleanliness. God
accomplished many things on this trip including installation of a well,
training locals and foreign aid workers on simple drilling techniques,
configuring a hand pump made entirely of local materials (this pump is
expected be used along the entire tsunami stricken coast at a total cost
of only $35 per well, start to finish). There is still
much work to be done, and the ADF plans to continue working their way
along the south eastern coast.
HydroLog:
12/14/05
- 12/25/05.
Location: 44N
0419740,
UTM 0663404. (6d 04' 00" N latitude / 80d 16' 29"
E longitude). Elevation: 27 meters. Village
of Talpai, Pananduwa (slightly east of Galle). Well is located in
middle of bath house compound. Former drinking water well (open
cistern) located on other side of large hill. Substrate consisted
mostly of thick red clay. No rock encountered although large
boulders are found in this region. Water struck at 12 feet, with
drilling continuing through red clay to 20 feet, at which time the soil
changed to a whitish, loamy material. Drilling continued to 22.5
feet. The well was cased with 3.5 inch pvc down to 22.5 feet, with
a 3 foot screen. No loss of depth or cave in was
encountered. Cased well showed a standing water column of 16 feet
that could not be pumped dry by hand. A concrete pad was poured,
complete with drain pipe. This is considered a "deep"
well for this area (most are hand dug to 12 feet).
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Thailand

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February, 2008 (by Lon & Cheryl House): We went to Thailand
with
LoveinActionAsia
to provide clean water to Karen refugee camps, particularly those in
Burma (also called Myanmar). The Karen have been involved in the
longest running civil war in modern history, over 60 years with the
Burmese military. There is a Karen refugee camp on the Thai/Burma
border call Ea Tu Hta that has over 4,000 Karen people displaced by
the Burmese Army. Their only source of water is a jungle stream.
One out of four children do not live to age two due to diarrhea-type
diseases.
The border with Burma was closed; due to the release of the new
Rambo movie, the February 14th assassination in Thailand of a Karen
leader, and a firefight on the Salween river between Burmese Army
and Karen fighters with several casualties. So we went to a Karen
refugee camp on the Thai side (Ma La Mu) and contacted several Karen
rangers to demonstrate the well drilling technology and well
installation. We decide to install a well outside of Ban Mae
Sariang on a dry plot of land that they could use for a vegetable
garden. GPS coordinates of well are approximately
N18.10'34", E97.56'30".
This was a novel experience for these people. There is so much
surface water in the jungle that wells are virtually unknown, and
there was initially a bit of skepticism about digging a hole and
pumping water out of the ground by hand.
The auger drilling system worked well, especially once we got
through the hard clay on the surface. We hit water at about 9 feet
deep. This was slow perking, so we continued to drill to about 20
feet in order to have enough of a reservoir. We cased the well with
4" PVC pipe, installed 2" well input pipe with a foot (check) valve
at the bottom, disinfected (using local bleach) and sealed the well,
and installed the hand pump.
The Karen rangers instantly saw the utility of clean water from a
well instead of surface water, and the ability to locate homes and
villages somewhere else than beside a stream (which makes it easy
for the Burmese Army to find their villages). Several of the Karen
rangers stated that they wanted a well at their homes!
About on week after we returned, we received an email from one of
the Karen ranger leaders, stating that they had drilled another well
at Maetob village and it worked, providing clean water. He was
eager to take the drilling technology and pumps back into Burma as
soon as the border opened up. His last statement to me - "You know
I don't want to loose my drilling sets as it is very valuable for
the health."
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