Final main post

The project is done and I am happy to say has been very successful. Run for Africa and PADI have managed to build 13 improved local wells and one bore hole which will provide an estimated 2000 people with clean water from this point on. The bore hole should last indefinitely and the local improved wells should continue to provide clean water until 2017 to 2022 with a moderate amount of maintenance that the local communities are capable of doing with local materials and are aware of. Construction of all thirteen improved wells plus the bore hole took roughly one month and all communities where PADI chose to build were able to hold up their end of the agreement which was to provide, free of charge, a full lorry worth of rock (the bed completely covered), a full lorry of sand, and 400 bricks per well along with all the unskilled labor necessary to construct them. This resulted in roughly half the total cost of each well being paid for through in kind contributions by the communities where they were built. PADI is already planning out and surveying where to build during the next dry season (between next June and next November). The number of wells currently being looked at for future projects for next year and beyond is around 40 improved wells and four more boreholes (all at high schools that currently have no source of potable drinking water for students) in the Songea town municipality. Plans are also being made to do some surveying around Mbinga town (about 60-70 miles away and the next big town if you go towards Lake Malawi) which also has a huge unmet need for potable water. The current plan for next year is to divide the dry season into three rounds of building to simplify the logistics of working in multiple villages and allow the well experts a break in-between each round of building as they usually must sleep in the villages where construction is happening while working.

I would like to thank Run for Africa for their generous support and continued enthusiasm for this project. Anyone who is reading this blog and has found it interesting please think about donating to Run for Africa or competing in one of their events. PADI's plans for next year won't materialize despite good planning and community involvement without money. Run for Africa has promised to continue funding for this project next year if they have enough money. Even 20 bucks, if that is all you can manage, actually will make a difference since each of these wells only cost around 150-200 US dollars (not including in kind contribution from the communities of materials and labor) and donations to Run for Africa are tax deductible. Ok, enough of that. Starting to feel like Sally Struthers. Please do what you can even if it is just spreading the word to other people you know who might be interested in African water projects (www.runforafrica.org) or environmental education and student empowerment in Africa (www.itsmyworld.org). Thanks for reading this blog. I might add some more stuff after this but it will mostly be silly stuff like in the beginning.

Kwa heri for now.