June 13, 2014
Journal 6
Greetings from South Africa,
I arrived in South Africa on Tuesday to some very cold weather that I was not prepared for. I don’t think that I have experienced this kind of cold here in the past. Ralph and I always stopped here to pick up the truck each time we came to Africa. We have been here in all different seasons but this was truly something that I was not expecting.
The well drilling is complete and all of the wells have been flow tested. The well at the Secondary School is an excellent well and it should have the electric pump in place early next week.
The well drilled at the Moringa field is also a good well. The solar system is being put in place as I write this journal. There are no funds for irrigation and so for the present they will have to use hoses for watering the Moringa.
A new well drilled for HCOC produces less water than we had hoped for but will certainly supplement the present system. Well drilling is always a gamble.
I am so very disappointed that the well drilled at Inyagui is not a good well. It is the third attempt to get good water for that school. It will work for watering the garden but will not be good for domestic use. Albert is exploring some other possibilities. He is going to investigate the possibility of pumping water from a well some distance from the school to the storage tank at the school. A flow test will determine the feasibility of doing this. Life is tough enough and without good water, life becomes more difficult.
The wind generator that was erected at Albert’s house last year is being connected today. The solar contractor, who is connecting the wind generator, is putting in one solar panel to supplement the wind. This will provide lights for Albert and his family on evenings when there is no electricity.
In addition they are installing a solar hot water heater. Beauty was anxiously looking forward to this improvement. The contractor that was to do this last year, reimbursed us some money because the job was never done.
This will be the last journal from Africa this year. I will try to keep everyone informed as things develop at the mission. My primary focus is the development of the Moringa project. I believe it is way to develop self-sustainability. Please keep this project in your prayers.
InHisService,
Roberta