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After six long years of trying to find funding, it was in our own back yard. The Santa Barbara North Rotary Club funded the well with Interna-tional Rotary, and many thanks to the Rotary Club in Nairobi for over seeing the project, the Langata Club The following is a copy of William Muli’s recap of the drilling of the well.
The well was drilled in be-tween rains that have started in Kenya, but it was more than just a dream of a well in the village, but one that has so much water, it is unbeliev-able !
The drilling was to start on Saturday the 19th of March, the same day the Geologist Pal Pauer arrived from the USA to oversee the drilling, as he said it would be tricky. Never found out what he meant by tricky, but we were all happy to have him there. The problem was Pal arrived at the same time as the rains. They met with the driller of Almak Aqua Drillers in Machakos and discussed the schedule, with the rains it was put on hold until they would be able to get to the village as the roads are not improved roads, but narrow dirt roads. It was three days before the rig was able to get to the village, but the ground was still very saturated with the previous rains.
On the 23rd the drillers called and said they were on their way, the Elder John who do-nated the land to the commu-nity sent his son to meet them at the turn off road to direct them to the village and to the drilling site. It was about eight kilometers from the Machakos road to the site. They arrived about noon, stopped to have a bit of lunch, then set about get-ting the rig to the site for drilling. This took about three hours to get the rig to the exact site, which was only one half mile, the ground was still very wet.
Once they were on site and set up it was time to start drilling. The drilling of the well started on the 24th March at 0800, and went for 11 hours when they stopped for a break of two hours, they started up again at 9PM and at 11:12 the water was struck and for the next one and a half hours it was nothing other than water, at this time we then knew that this is a lot of water from this well. Around 1 AM we all left to get some sleep.
As I am writing this now the water is still flowing freely from the well head, although the pump testing has not been done as the rains came again.
Pal Pauer estimated the well is producing about 30 gallons (120 Liters) of water per min-ute, this is a true miracle that this has happened to this village.
On behalf of the people of Ngu-Nyumu village I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU all for having worked so hard to make this well come true, we really do not have the right words to thank all of you for the wonderful smiles you have put on the faces of Ngu-Nyumu village for helping them to getting very good clean water close to all of them, this water will go a long way to change the lives in this village, as it is enough maybe for domestic use and some irrigation.
Pal Pauer
Pal, pronounced Paul to us, was born in Hungary, came to the USA as a teenager, educated in Ojai area, and then on to a University. His education as a Geologist was under a master, learning all he could . His methods maybe be different from the Geologist who use all kinds of instruments, but can’t give you a definite answer of where water is. Pal is a master! The Maasai well, he sighted this well, also the well in Ngu-Nyumu village.
The Maasai well he said you will get water at 33 meters, we did, he said but, drill to 55 meters and you will get more water. True to his word, that is exactly what happened. He predicted the depth of the Ngu-Nyumu well also. Which was 150 me-ters in depth. There are not enough words to thank him for his dedication to bringing water to those that don’t have it, he forever will have prayers com-ing his way from those he has helped to give a better life to.
MAASAI WELL REPORT
The Maasai still can’t believe the water well! They made many phone calls to William Muli of Woni Safaris, just to tell him what the people were say-ing and how they felt. They now have plenty of water to bathe, wash their clothes, water their animals. This well will forever change their way of life, and having it just next to the village is fantastic. They will be building a barrier around it of thorn bushes, to keep the ele-phants away (hopefully), until we can come up with funding to put up a some type of a strong fence, to protect the well. The other idea is to dig a reservoir some distance away and line it with plastic and Ben-tonite liner, and fill with water for the animals. This of course is another project to make things better, just need the funding.
LESSON IN PRIMARY WATER
Most of the world’s wells rely on ground water, water produced by rain or other precipitation which seeps into the soil to form aquifers and water tables below the surface. As the major water supply, ground water has many problems. Ground water not only depends on the weather, it can be contami-nated by pollutants or salt water in coastal regions intruding when the fresh is pumped out. In deserts, low rainfall and rapid evaporation prevent the formation of signifi-cant ground water, precluding agri-culture or development.
There is an answer to all of these problems. This marvel-ous source of relatively un-tapped water is called Primary Water. Primary water is new water formed by chemicals deep in the earth. This water, driven by massive pressure, works its way towards the sur-face through faults and fissures in normally impervious crystal-line rock. While you may have to drill deeper for Primary Wa-ter, it is generally not subject to pollutants or variations to rain-fall and usually sustains production for decades. Also Primary Water sources are available in areas of the world where ground water is exhausted or does not exist in significant quantity. Fresh water Facts: Although two-thirds of the earth is covered with water, only 3% of it is fresh. 99% of all the earths fresh water is frozen in ice caps and glaciers. More than 300 million people live in countries with too little fresh water. By 2025 scientists predict that number will increase to 3 billion. The remaining 1% of the earth’s fresh water is all that is readily available for personal , agricultural or industrial use. The human need for clean wa-ter is escalating because of rapid population and industrial growth. In addition rising stan-dards of living are increasing our total need for water. In 1990, 26 countries were ex-periencing water scarcity with that number expected to grow to 65 in 2025. Currently 10 countries in the Middle East and North Africa overdraw their national renewable water supply and make up the differ-ence from ground water. Primary Water although it is not generally recognized by the hydrological community , is referred to as new, juvenile, or earth generated water, it is found in modern literature, still it seems not to be used as a source of new water. It is found in the bedrock, at depths of 150 to 300 foot. Primary Water could and is being used to slow the water crisis. Evidence of Primary Water comes from many sources, natural springs, can be found throughout the world, somehave been producing gallons of pure fresh water per minute since Biblical times. Many of these, like the Fountain of Apollo in Libya and one in Syria, have seeded civilizations. Primary water has been found accidently when tunneling through rock for mines, road ways or waterways. The Com-stock mine in Nevada for ex-ample pumped over 5 million gallons a day out of flooded mineshafts until the pumps failed and the mine was closed in 1886. In the 1950’s water was struck tunneling through the Santa Ynez mountains in Santa Barbara that flowed over 13 millions of gallons a day. Construction was halted until the gushing fissure could be sealed. This was called the Te-colote Tunnel. This is close to home, If you would like more info on the tunnel check it out on line.
Friends of Woni Kenya International, having been in-volved in these two wells being drilled , the Maasai and the Kamba village well has given us a renewed energy to search out other areas in Kenya that desperately need water. Then we will go on our search for funding to provide a bet-ter life for those in need. We don’t just give them a well, they as a community do have to work for their ownership of that well. Two way street, sometimes if you give too much it then becomes expected. First the community has to come together and form a Community Based Organization, next a person in that community has to deed over a portion of their land to the CBO, a geologist survey has to be done, licenses have to be obtained, then the really hard part, find-ing funding.
MAASAI SCHOOL
The Maasai believe very much in education, they have over the years built a small two room building, and just recently put in a cement floor in the one room. The primary school, which runs in the morning, and with grades 1-6 in the after-noons. The other room still needs flooring, desks, and blackboard. The cost of this is just about $3000 to finish the room. Some of the children are able to go to the government schools, but the distance is far for them each day to walk. There are only a few motorcycles in the village for transportation, and those that own them work in the nearby lodges.
Friends of Woni Kenya Inter-national donated cash to pur-chase uniforms for the pre-school children, so they will all be dressed the same, a mere $400 US for 28 uniforms to be made . Some of the parents maybe could afford the uni-forms, but most can’t, and these uniforms will work when they go on to the government school.
I have never seen children so anxious to answer a question asked by the teacher before, the whole room raises their hands. Your visit to the village is a must, but a visit to the school is special! Picture below is of Joseph the Chief of the village, myself and Solomon Wiseman the video photographer from Nairobi
A smile speaks any language
805-452-1746 cell
805-961-9417 phone
14 Violet Lane
Goleta, CA 93117
www.friendsofwonikenya.org
Water is life for all living creatures.
Giant Yard Sale
October 10th and 11th were the dates of our giant yard sale, we are raising funds to pay for a Geologist to come to the Maasai village in Amboseli Kenya to give us a good report as to where the best place is to drill a water well for them. The approximate cost to get a Geologist to the village and do the report is about $1000, due to the distance he has to come, which is about 100 miles one way.
Once the report is in our hands, then the next step is to get drilling companies to give us an estimate as to what the cost might be for drilling the well. We have a long way to go, but we can do it!
When we first had the idea of the yard sale it was because I had many clothes people had donated, and for a number of years I have carried those over to Kenya, well the closet got too full, so thus the yard sale. I told my friends and co workers and things started arriving, pickups full of things, cars full of stuff. My two car garage was full.
This yard sale we feel was a success, as we raised $566.75.
Our next yard sale will be around the first of November, as we have lots left over.
To our many friends that helped, we thank you so much, I know you are in the prayers of the Maasai for wanting to help them.
Jambo,
Evie Treen |
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