This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Sajay Menon.
To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to repair pumps in and around the village.
Sajay reports:
The Mwamba Muchilingwa Pump Project was meant to fix three boreholes, to provide safe drinking water for a catchment area of over 5,000 people.
With project funds, a committee was set up to oversee the purchase and installation of the new pipes and rubber stoppers that were required for the old pumps to work again. This committee was also responsible for making sure that there was adequate structure in place for all future pump repairs to be completed by the village alone without the need for donor money.
12 pipes were purchased (2 being extra that will be used in case any of the ones failed) and the remainder of the money was spent on the tools that could not be found and the proper rubber rings that were used for the pumping mechanism.
All of the pipes were installed properly at Mwamba Basic School first, as that community was very well organized and incredibly dedicated.
The Muchilingwa pump was then installed after a series of delays due to confusion about who had to volunteer and what benefits they would receive from the rest of the community .
Finally the bore hole at the Clinic was installed after a long period. This was mainly due to the fact that those living close to this borehole are government workers and did not contribute to the manual labor needed to install said pipes. Luckily some of the other villagers eventually came and helped install the pipes.
A system was then put in place to maintain the pumps. Each villager will give a small sum of money (which was deemed affordable by every community member) per month. This money will be used to pay the pump-minder (the one responsible and trained to care for the pump) for any work that he has to do to maintain it. It should also cover the costs of any new materials needed.
As of now, all boreholes are working properly and the villagers are no longer drinking water coming from unprotected wells, rivers, or furrows. The project has been completed successfully and the villagers have shown great appreciation for this donation. Many have told me how they understood the importance of potable drinking water, but with no boreholes available, they were unable to put that knowledge to good use.
From the entire village and myself, we thank you for your generous donation and hope that you continue to support projects like these in the future.
We are grateful to Sajay for completing this project, and again wish to thank Caledonia Congregational Church for providing the funding.