We spent a great morning and part of the afternoon at the village of Ihushi. The water struck at the well ran well and it was exciting to see it pour out when the well was flushed clean and tested. We were the guests for lunch at the nearby home in the village and the drilling crew was able to join us as well. During this lunch we also had the opportunity to try another traditional African food, which is a blend of ground corn and casaba root. It turns out sort of like a moist corn meal. The substance itself does not have a lot of flavor, but they are in the tradition of balling it up with their fingers and dipping it in whatever sauce is produced by the meat served (in this case beef). The villagers at the meal had a good time showing us the right way to eat it and got a kick out of watching us try :)
In the late afternoon, the drillers proceeded to Mwanenaka. For those of you who supported the well drilling effort in response to my email letter, this is the well that was funded by your donations! Let me pass on the many thanks I received directly to you. I tried to take many pictures so that you can see the well drilling, the land, and most importantly, the people there that will benefit from this well. It is nicely situated near a large configuration of homes (huts). Also, Val and I are estimating that about 200 people had arrived within the first 10 minutes we were there, so I think access to this well is good.
The children here, particularly the little ones, were more shy at first (as compared to my limited experience in the other villages). However, they warmed up quickly when we passed out bracelets and the interpreter began to talk to them. They also loved a game that I started where I would record the circle of faces around me on my flip camera and then play it back for them to see. It is hard for me to describe how excited they would get when they saw their faces on the camera. I'm guessing that mirrors are rare, so they don't get to see their image too often, not to mention seeing a video camera (perhaps for the first time).
We were able to stay in the village late into the evening and I was surprised how many people also stayed to watch the drilling. At one point the drilling crew began welding a metal hammer and a drill component, right there at the site! I was worried that the equipment would be down for the count, but they completed the work. One of the crewman began using the welded hammer while it was still steaming with heat - I've never seen anything like it. There is no electricity for miles, so the landscape gets very dark after the sun sets, yet they are quite comfortable moving around in the dark. When they shared dinner for us, I could see a large fire in one of the huts that served as a kitchen. The light from this fire came out a bit into the yard outside and we sat in a circle together eating rice and stew.
We watched the drilling until nearly 10PM before returning to Mwanza. We were all tempted to try to stay to see the drilling completed, but given that there may be more delays, we decided it is best to go. We returned home and I spent a long night half asleep waiting for Juma to call as he had done the past two nights. The call never came, so I awoke early and anxious. However, we received good news this morning when we called Michael, the drill foreman - the Mwanenaka well struck water at 80 meters - hurray! (Juma's cell phone had run out of battery).
I'm writing this now just before we go back out to the village to see the water pressure testing, etc. I hope to write with more good news soon.
Thanks again to everyone who has supported these projects, I have never seen more grateful people. It is a privilege for me to have the opportunity to witness it.
--Merideth
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