Drill a well for 750 villagers in South Sudan.

WFSS Executive Director Lynn Malooly recently traveled to South Sudan with WFSS Board President Glenn Balch, Board Member Anne Turner, and Operations Support Coordinator Gary Prok. The U.S. team spent time with WFSS's South Sudan leadership team and staff at our compound in Wau and in the field. Always striving to improve and operate more efficiently, the visiting team observed operations and offered advice on streamlining some of our systems in South Sudan. 

The U.S. team was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet the South Sudan staff and some of the people that we serve. One of the sites they visited was the Zagalona School in Wau. WFSS installed a well at the school and in January, broke ground on our first sanitation project, latrines for the school. The latrines are on target to be completed by April 30th. "It was endearing to have all of the children greet us," said Lynn, "the sound of children playing is the same all over the world." 

The U.S. team was impressed with how hard everyone in South Sudan works. They have a hard life, even when made easier by having access to clean water it is still very difficult. When there is a well women still have to tote their water in jerry cans. However, they know that the water is uncontaminated and they don't have to walk so far, meaning that they are able to have more than just enough water to meet the minimal needs of their families. Now perhaps they have enough water to bathe everyday, to wash clothes, and to water a garden that provides food for their families.

The WFSS team works extremely hard as well and face many challenges in their work. Many tasks that are automated in the U.S. are still manual for our team. Traveling throughout the countryside is very hard on our equipment because roads are not paved where they are working. If something breaks down in the field, they have to figure out a way to make repairs. "The ingenuity of the team to solve problems is incredible," stated Lynn. 

The 2018 drilling season will conclude in May. To date this season WFSS has drilled 29 new wells in villages without access to clean water, rehabbed 6 of our older wells, and conducted hygiene training in all 35 villages, as well as implementing the sanitation project at the Zagalona School.      

Visualize a one gallon jug of water and then picture two rows of one gallon jugs, one row with 100 jugs to represent the average American's daily water use and one row with five jugs to represent the average African's daily water use. In America we take water for granted, never worrying that there won't be enough or that we won't have easy access to safe drinking water. In South Sudan clean water is a luxury many do not have. They have to seek a water source and often the source is contamintated. When a village has a well many things change for people. Women and girls no longer have to walk for water and when their time is freed they can grow food or build a business and girls can attend school.

On average, a well drilled by Water for South Sudan in a remote village serves 750 people. Women and girls stand in line at the well each day to collect water for their family. And they are grateful that the water is clean and is only a mile or so from their homes, as opposed to the five miles that many have to walk. In America virtually every home has fresh water piped into its kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom, and many houses have as many bathrooms as people living in the home. Can you imagine having to walk a mile and then stand in line with a jerry can to get your daily supply of water? 

The average cost of a one liter bottle of water in the US is $1.00. The average cost per liter of water from a WFSS well is .00026. For $15 you can purchase 15 one liter bottles of water in the US or provide 58,594 liters of clean water to a village in South Sudan. In October, 2018 WFSS will celebrate its 15th anniversary. Over the course of a year giving $15 per month will provide 703,128 liters of water to an isolated village in South Sudan - the impact on lives is immeasurable.

WFSS' 2018 drilling season kicked-off in December. Our drilling, rehab, and hygiene teams are hard at work in the field. Our goals for 2018 are to drill up to 40 new wells, to rehab up to 50 wells, and to provide hygiene training in each village where we work, potentially 90 villages. In addition, WFSS has broken ground on its first sanitation project - latrines in a school. 

Thank you for your support. 

Links:

• WFSS founder Salva Dut interview with Evan Dawson, WXXI