Uganda Well Project Update
Dear friends,
I am sitting in a steamy Kampala internet cafe at the end of the preparation for the drilling project in northern Uganda. Today and yesterday I met with local contacts to fix all transportation and logisitics issues around getting to the drilling site and get the wells drilled.
For those of you who are unaware, Uganda was the home of Idi Amin. He came actually from the region where we are heading tomorrow. The local tribe there has been fractured and lost a tremendous amount of power since he left more than a decade ago. However, there was a recent insurgency which has cause many people to be displaced.
It is for this reason that the UN and USAID is so active in the region trying to rebuild the communities destroyed by the insurgents.
According to experts here, the water situation is getting worse every year. Population growth and increasing demand is outstripping the investment in clean water sources (I have video from the conversation). This means that although there are aid agencies here, they are not able to keep up with increasing demand.
It is a really sad situation, but at the same time we are really going to have an impact on three neighboring communities. From what I have heard the last well drilled off the aquifer we will be drilling yielded over 6000 liters per day… or enough to provide water to 1200 people.
I have learned a great deal and made a lot of very important, trustworthy contacts, who are taking good care of me. I believe that the relationship with Aqua Drill Tech will develop into neighboring Congo and Tanzania, where they are currently drilling wells for the EU.
Tomorrow we are off in the jeep to Kitgum. We will drive through a local rhino park along the way, which should be very interesting. It is a day long journey and we will arrive late tomorrow night.
On Tuesday morning, drilling is scheduled to begin. The depth of the aquifer is approximately 75 meters deep (almost 250 feet) and the water has been tested and is extremely good quality (NO CHEMICALS, PESTICIDES, OR BACTERIA).
On Wednesday evening the spill plate and pump should be fixed and water should already be flowing from the well, though real use wont happen until the concrete is set.
We will interview the chief water officer of the region, the drilling team, the local clinic,as well as two families living nearby.
Lots more to follow…Please stay tuned, invite your friends to join and if you want to contribute financially, your tax deductible donations are very appreciated at www.globalh2o.org.
As my friend Franz says… Stay Hydrated!
Jamie
Tags: Aqua Drill Tech, Clean Water, Global H2O, Kampala, Uganda, UN, USAID, Well Drilling in Africa
