Water Harvest International

Water Harvest International. The water well drilling operation of East African Ministries (EAM). And it's EJ's birthday! Surprises in store.
We weren't allowed to go back to Sunyu today for the follow up clinic day because the videographer needed footage without a bunch of extraneous people wandering around ruining the shots. Understandable. I wanted to go see the drilling anyway. They were at 48 meters when we arrived in the morning. Water was beginning to come up as they were blasting air down the pipes, but they didn't end up hitting water today even at 52 meters. (They eventually started drilling at another location the next day.) We as a group headed over to a nearby school to follow up with the children who had been given Sanitation and Hygiene training the day before by Godfrey. They learned a song about washing their hands with soap and scrubbing them clean, especially before eating and after defecating. Very important fundamental concepts to learn when you are charged with keeping your water sources clean and your body healthy.
George the Ginger led the Sanitation training with the local adults as Godfrey translated. He did a phenomenal job. I think he was just most excited about asking the villagers to raise their hands if they've ever gotten worms/diarrhea. As the hands rose into the air, he was able to tell them that means they have eaten someone else's fecal matter. A gross, but valid point. Don't defecate upstream (or downstream). Your water should be clear (not green) and should not have a taste. Jerrycans should be clean on the INSIDE more importantly and they should also have caps to keep the water from sloshing out instead of using their thumbs to plug the opening. They were also told that they needed to build a separate dedicated latrine and shower. Contamination, contamination, contamination. The things we take for granted. I feel speechless. (I said "feel" not "am".) Keep your boreholes uncontaminated. With clean water comes great community responsibility. Allow passersby to use your latrine instead of the bush in case the rains could wash their excrement into your water source. So many reminders. Godfrey asked questions to recap the training and make sure they were paying close attention. Clean water ... what an amazing gift from God.

Kosar, one of the Darfurian women living in the Darfurian village across the field, came over tonight to give the gals henna. So, now I have what they call a "husband catcher" on my right hand. Let's see how effective this really is. Am I irresistible yet?
Kosar has two children (that I met): a baby girl named Stephanie and a little boy named Tebo (or Tibo?).

Arabic I've learned
Shokran = thank you
Mabruk = congratulations
No.. I do not know how to spell them. But I know how to say them.