How Many People Does it Take To Dig a Well?!

Kids Inspiring Kids currently has two American volunteers in Uganda, Africa helping to dig wells on Place of Refuge Village land. These wells are the foundation for everything else to come. Water is life.  The volunteers were greeted in the Banda Acholi Quarters with a celebration of local singing and dancing. They even got to participate with local drums and instruments. 

In Uganda, we have only two seasons since we are located on the equator, dry and rainy season. During rainy season the roads are treacherous and mud slides are common, but in dry season everyone hopes that they have enough reserve water saved to last until the next rainy season. The city water is run by the government and sometimes it turns off, for no rhyme or reason.

The first well had to be dug 30 feet down, which is about 10 feet deeper than originally planned, but it has about a 15-foot pocket.  The adventure to dig this well was not without its hardships. These water wells will be used to make bricks, laundry, cooking, etc.

The car broke down getting out to the land, the casing on the well broke...TIA (this is Africa). When something goes wrong and/or breaks, unfortunately, there is not a Home Depot down the road to keep the work moving at a smooth pace. The work is also incredibly labor intensive and with the heat and humidity, it only adds to the challenges. All of the hard work is worth it though.  There is a lot of work still to be done. We need your help!

Nikki Lynn1 Comment