What’s New?

Divine Water – Zambia.   Two new wells, and in record time!

Speed is not normally one of the metrics we worry about when it comes to water wells. What is much more important is sustainability. A village must feel they “own” their well. Otherwise, the first time it breaks it will be called “The Divine Water well” or a “Muzunga (white person) well”.

Ownership starts with sanitation. Before Divine Water funds a well for a village, more than 90% of the homes must have and use a latrine, a handwashing station, and an elevated dish rack. The big deal is the latrine. Digging a 30–40-foot-deep hole is not easy. But that’s not the hard part. Convincing everyone of the need for latrines is the real challenge. 

The key is education combined with persistence and patience. Typically, most villages take 10-12 months to complete the sanitation program.

The Choma village had an edge over most of the other villages. Two students from the Livingstone Evangelical School, Joseph Simwajata and Wilson Muzandu, established a Christian church in Choma last year. Divine Water hired these students (now graduates) to lead the sanitation program and develop the plan to get clean water to the village.

Divine Water sent Joseph and Wilson to Uganda for two weeks to train with the Kibo Group. With this background, they came back to Zambia and went to work with the Choma village. With the villagers’ trust strengthened by the newly established church, the change process was greatly accelerated.

Still, issues came up. Some people rented their huts and at first were not sure their landlords would agree to have a latrine on their property. And several of the hut owners were widows and did not have the strength to dig a latrine. Joseph and Wilson were relentless. They created an environment of trust and collaboration and successfully resolved all the problems.

The village was ready for a well in early June – a full six months ahead of schedule. The drilling company was hired and came on site and were immediately surrounded by the entire village, some 250 people. They drilled for three days and hit only rock and sand. No water. Can you imagine the disappointment?

Joseph and Wilson were not sure how the Divine Water board would react to bad news. Our response? “Drill again! And if that hole is dry, drill another one.” Ok, we had some intel there was an aquifer in the area so it’s not like we were completely relying on God.

The drilling rig came back two weeks later and hit water at roughly 70 meters. The water was tested for impurities and contaminants and passed with flying colors. The well head and pump were then installed, and the pump was turned over to the village.

But Joseph and Wilson were not finished. The Choma village is unique in that it is bisected by a public highway. 60% of the village live on one side and 40% on the other. Cars travel at 60 mph. That meant people – mostly women and children - had to cross the highway carrying their 5-gallon jerrycans filled with water whilst dodging traffic. Joseph and Wilson expressed concern that this could too easily result in a fatality and asked if it would be possible to place a second well on the other side of the highway. This way, all the villagers have easy access to water without worrying about crossing traffic.

The Divine Water board unanimously approved the second well and it came on-line in September.