Wednesday evening we picked up Elder Esplin and Elder Udall from LDS charities along with the construction man, Charles. They came up to see some "bore holes" (we call them wells.) So today we got up before 5am to be on the road before 6am to go see these bore holes. The problem is the lack of sanitary water for drinking. Many women walk 6km or more to Lake Victoria to fetch water. One woman makes 6 trips a day to get enough water for her 8 children and the 6 orphans she cares for. The water from the lake is also used for washing laundry, people and cars as well as a drain for sewage.
So LDS Charities is drilling wells to bring sanitary water closer to the people. We had to leave early enough to catch the ferry across part of Lake Victoria.
So LDS Charities is drilling wells to bring sanitary water closer to the people. We had to leave early enough to catch the ferry across part of Lake Victoria.
It took us nearly 2 hours to get there. Then we waited for the ferry to off load. It's a good fishing area and here are some of the fishing boats. On the lake we passed sail boats, too. 
This well was just completed and they are testing the flow of the water. The women were so delighted. They Ky-yi-yi-ed and clapped and danced their appreciation. The completed project will pipe the water up the the community and have a storage tank to draw from.
It was amazing to see all the people come Tom counted one woman who came at least 3 times for water. 15 minutes for her round trip home, 6 minutes waiting in line for water. People carried water on their heads. They came with donkeys that carried about 200 lbs of water back. They came with bicycles to carry water and wheelbarrows. It's the staff of life. They figure 10 liters per person per day for drinking water. Plus water for washing and cooking.
Elder Fox volunteered to carry some water.
We saw 4 wells-- one just starting, one ready to pull water in the next day or so, one long established, and one dry hole. They drilled 250 feet and came up with no water.
It was amazing to see all the people come Tom counted one woman who came at least 3 times for water. 15 minutes for her round trip home, 6 minutes waiting in line for water. People carried water on their heads. They came with donkeys that carried about 200 lbs of water back. They came with bicycles to carry water and wheelbarrows. It's the staff of life. They figure 10 liters per person per day for drinking water. Plus water for washing and cooking.Elder Fox volunteered to carry some water.
We saw 4 wells-- one just starting, one ready to pull water in the next day or so, one long established, and one dry hole. They drilled 250 feet and came up with no water.-
Again we had a time line. We had to make the 2:00 ferry in order to get people back to the airport to catch their flight to Nairobi. Elder Fox did a masterful job of driving. We got home before 5pm. But we were tired puppies. And sunburned once again. I did wear a hat. I need one with a wider brim!
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