Our Trip-Shane and the Villages

Shane went over to the island early on Tuesday to do a bit of research with a coworker regarding some of the needs that the villages might have. On Wednesday, they visited 7 villages. On Thursday, they visited some villages on the river. Shane was really focusing on water...Do the people have enough drinking water? If not, then where are they getting their water? Are they using wells? Have the wells run dry during the dry season? If they have water, is it clean? Is it from the swamp or the river where the toilets are? Are the villages interesting in receiving help? Are they open to help from outsiders?

Here is what he found out...
1. Many of the villages did have wells. However, most village wells had run dry during the dry season. Many village people were walking as far as 4 kms to the RIVER and SWAMP to get their drinking water.

2. They are not harvesting rain water. They have not even thought about this idea. They are only thinking about "today". In fact, Shane even saw houses with nice tin roofs, with gutters. The rainwater, though, is just dripping down into the street!

3. The water they are using for drinking is the same water that they shower in and the same water where they go to the toilet in.

I was not with Shane so my information is sort of all over the place. I am not a civil Engineer!!!! Amazing though....In one of the villages, the chief community leader came out to talk with Shane and our co-worker. He told them that their well ran dry about couple of months ago. Now, the people have to walk to the swamp a few kilometers each day to get water just to drink. He invited them to come back and try to help his village! Wow...what an answer to prayer.

Shane will be going over again in January and February on his own. Next time, I think they will be renting a boat and trying to access more villages along the river. Some villages are only accessible by boat. Continue to pray for God's leading in all of this. What an open door for us all...especially Shane being a civil engineer. After hearing Shane's report on all this, I have never known such assurance that we were in the right place.

Here are some village photos. May this give you something to think about the next time you turn on the tap or faucet at home!!!

 

Every house in this village has a pipe running from their house to the well.

These tanks hold water that is pumped from the well...and not rainwater.

Can you spot the toilet? This is where the villages get their water when the wells run dry.

There are people in the top part of this photo walking down to the river. There are kids swimming in the river, and the box is a toilet.