Build a well in South Sudan for 1500 people

Dear friends:

Thanks to your generosity Water for South Sudan (WFSS) has drilled 282 wells in remote, South Sudanese villages. We are grateful for your support.

Imagine living in an environment where for half of the year there is no rain and the temperature averages 120°F. Now imagine there is no air conditioning, no refrigerator with cold water to drink, and no supermarket where you can purchase drinking water. In order to get water you must walk miles in the heat, only to find water that is dirty and contaminated. Hundreds of thousands of people live like this today. Water for South Sudan drills wells in remote South Sudanese villages, providing access to clean, safe water and transforming lives.

WFSS is preparing to begin its 2017 drilling season in the coming days. WFSS drills only during the dry season, which runs from November through May. Once the rains come it is impossible to travel or to drill. In October, November, and December, the WFSS team in South Sudan prepares for drilling to begin in January.

Preparations include working with county and village leaders to determine where wells are needed, conducting assessments, and procuring supplies for the season. Once WFSS, in conjunction with county and village leaders have agreed in which villages wells will be drilled, the WFSS team conducts an assessment. The assessment entails confirming that there is access to the underground aquifer that provides water and determining what needs to be done prior to drilling.

For example, in a country the geographic size of Texas there are only about 100 miles of paved road. In most of the country even dirt roads are nonexistent. Therefore, often trees and brush need to be cleared to create a road where WFSS can drive in their trucks and drilling rig. WFSS engages villagers to complete this work before the team comes back to drill. In addition, because South Sudan has few resources, supplies must be purchased in other countries, such as Uganda and the United States, and shipped to South Sudan.  

When WFSS arrives in a village to drill a well everyone is very excited because they know that close proximity to clean, safe water will be transformational. Therefore, people want to help the WFSS team. Children will help to collect rocks needed and women will even cook for the team.

During the 2017 drilling season, WFSS anticipates drilling approximately 20 new wells, providing hygiene training in villages where new wells are constructed, and revisiting villages to repair some of our earliest wells. It is your support that allows us to continue bringing water to areas where it is desperately needed. 

Links:

• I Just Kept Walking, Salva Dut TEDxBeaconStreet Talk