Swaziland Projects progress

July 4, 2016

Todays visits!  Nompie came with us.  Nompie is the Water Adminstrator of Swaziland. We visited 3 wells. We traveled the whole length of Swaziland in this tour.

The 1^st well we stopped at was called Hlabangamehlo which covers 50 homesteads about 150 people.  We passed a group of people we thought were there for us.  They were registering for food with the drought.  

Government crew putting on the hand pump lever

At this well, we viewed the government workers putting in the pump and the wand to pump it with, it being a hand pump.  We witnessed water coming out of the well.  I was surprised we did not have community members there to celebrate the water coming out.  They were all at the food registration.    The foundation needs to be built yet.

Water at last

It was so exciting to be there when the water actually came out of the well.!! 

The 2^nd well was called Ncuthu Hand Pump.  This was very close to the 1^st well and one we had seen when we visited last time. 

Broken Mthoutela Hand pump

Too many joints Mthoutela

  I am glad they did the pump first so people can get water while the foundation is being finished.  Nompie suggested they let the drain off water go into a reservoir for the animals to drink from a little distance from the fence so there is no contamination.

These pictures show the before and after of the Mthoutela well.  There were just too many joints.  It had been fixed too many times to be fixed again.  The first picture of the refurbish shows the fence around it with a gate being installed.  It looks better.

 

This picture shows Nompie pumping the water at this well.  We are so excited and so are the people.

Nompie, Water Administrator for Swaziland

At this second well, we saw some of the community members here, some washing clothes and another to get water.  It is good to see the community there when we came.

Water committee

On our way to the third well, we saw the same well we had seen the last time we visited.  At that time, we had Sithole and Mthulie Florence Mamba in our car along with another colleague.  We mentioned this well and the concern that the gate was not closed.  It had a great fence and a lockable gate but it was left open and we could see footprints of animals all inside the fence.  Mthulie immediately called the Water Committee leader for this well.  The answer was that there are people getting water who are not a member of the water community area so they leave it open for them. HUMMMMM!  This time, we saw the same thing only donkeys were inside the fence and the gate was wide open.  The Water committee leader was called again.  She said there were youngsters that had gotten water and forgot to close the gate.  

 These are the kind of  concerns we hope to work out in the Community Trainings.  When we went back by, the youngsters had chased out the animals and closed the gate but I could see extensive animal tracks all over inside that fence.  CONTAMINATION!!!! Scare.

installing the gate

This third well was called Mthoutela.  This is the well that Nompie had mentioned in front of the WASH conference complimenting us for our help in meeting the Swaziland Water Goals for 2022 .  These people at Mthoutela were dancing because they finally had water.  When we got here, there was no more dancing.  The water pump had broken after only 10  days of working.   The same Government workers that were at the first well were here working on the foundation but there was no water flowing from the well.  The draw rods had come lose and it no longer could pump up the water.  Soooo sad.  The government workers did not have the right equipment to pull the top off and find the lose rod.  They said they would come back tomorrow.  

  

  I am glad for one thing.  The community of Mthoutela all support the well. 

 

We stopped at a couple of wells along the way that are not the wells we are providing materials for .  Nompie really cares about water for her country.  She was just checking and made notes on the needs she could see.

We appreciate the principles the Swaziland Government holds true. This is why they are a good partner.

Two projects progressing in 1 week?????

Ricatla is progressing

We went out to Ricatla to see the progress of the work being done.  Last week, the community came out to get started on finishing the community classrooms, refurbishing the existing desks, and put in the electrical, metal doors and windows.

Here are some pictures of their progress!!!

Working with Ori and ?

Steel covered in concrete

As you can see, the steel has been covered over with the concrete and a pile of bricks has accumulated  at the far side of the construction.  There were two other stacks of bricks we saw this week as well.

Here the electrical is being put in.  The school still has not let us know they have the electricity to the school yet but they are working on it.  These desks were worked on but not complete yet.  We have the money into Luxoflex.  As soon as the money appears in their account the desks will be delivered.  We expect them next week.

Auarelio's electrical

Desks are getting done.  There are still some not complete yet but they are working on it.  Good job Ricatla

I find it interesting that the electrical job was done standing on a chair propped between these two desks!   HUMMMMM!!  Welfare principles need to be taught here!!!

These good people are spending lots of time and money.  Effort has been expended to refurbish these very desks to as new as they can be before we deliver the new desks we promised.  I will bet you that none of the people who are refurbishing these desks did this little stunt!!

Chair used for a ladder????

 

This week we could see some  progress.  A company called Dallas came out to the Machava School and took the first step to the “Draw Down Test”. The draw down test is what we have needed to go forward with the development of this project.  The test will show us the capacity of the well.  We need to know how many people this well will care for.  We have a school of over 7200 students with an 8 bucket flush latrine that need water to their school and latrines.  The church provided a borehole and latrine several years ago.  For several reasons, the well and latrines have fallen in disrepair.  We have been working with them to rehabilitate the well and latrine.

This Monday, we met up with the Agua De Maputo to do what Dallas did Friday.  After meeting with FIPAG who referred us to another department, called Agua De Maputo who referred us to another department in Agua De Maputo, we finally got someone out to do the draw down test we thought!!!!

Jars in hand, ready to do some testing.  We walked out to the borehole.  When they realized there was no pump, they said they could not test the well!  How could that information get lost in the “pass the buck” process, we will never know.

However, one of the men did say he would send some contacts that could actually do the draw down test without a pump.  We called from this list and got Dallas to come Friday.  They cleaned the borehole ready for the draw down test to be done Monday.

They piped air down the borehole throwing water up and out until the water became clear.  Now the borehole is clean and ready for the draw down test.

Once we have the capacity of the well, we have the perimeter of the project development.  Graca Cossa, the new director, has been working with her school council and community chefi to clean up the morality of the school to secure that the new things brought into the school will be safe, protected and maintained.

After the new pump refurbish Graca paid for was stolen, Graca has been mobilizing the community to secure the school.  She has been collecting materials to finish the wall around the buildings.

Cute kids excited about whatever is going on!!

Water cleaning

 

Ricatla Project

Ricatla Refurbish Project

We are pleased with the approval of the Ricatla project.  These are sweet people who have worked to build another building to match the government built building but have been discouraged in the lack of ability to stay motivated.  More dedicated donations were needed to continue what they had started.

Our objective was to help teach Welfare Principles and build hope and faith back into the group.  Today was some great progress toward that goal.

With only one week delay, we all met at the school site.  Our contractor, Aurelio, had been out the previous week putting on metal doors and bars on the windows securing the rooms for desks we will donate.  He was here this day painting the metal doors.  The desk refurbishing group was here this day. Our donation of 30 desks adds to the existing desk count. The donation will proceed when the old desks have been refurbished by the community.   And the community volunteers were here this day to start again on the foundation of the new building.  They have gone ahead and started with what they now have knowing what they have will only build one of the three rooms they hope to build.  Never the less, hope has been restored.

There were 40 volunteers out of parents from 1000 students.  The school officials had organized the volunteers into groups that were to attend the work schedule on a particular Saturday each month.  That accounting took place with roll call.  (Similar to being assigned a Saturday to clean the chapel)

Elder Petersen was visiting with the desk refurbish group.  He asked them how their children will treat these desks their parents have refurbished. These parents responded that their students had better treat these desks nice or the children will get thumped by their parents.

We delivered a box of educational materials we said we would donate.  They were glad to receive them.

Besides water brought by the women, the women cooked lunch for the working men out under a tree.  Everyone had a job and they fulfilled it very well.

Ricatla expects to have the first classroom finished in two months and hoping to have collections for the other two classroom constructions by then.

We hope the refurbishing of the existing classrooms, new desks, doors, windows, and electricity, will help build faith in this good group of Ricatla people so they can see their way to donating of their time, money, and things to the building of the rest of the classrooms the foundation is set for.  There are still 8 classes held under the trees without the new construction.  These new classrooms will allow every child a classroom to meet in.

A maintenance plan is in place to keep the school nice for a long time.  We will be here another year to see that maintenance plan in effect.

Swazi Projects and fun

Hungry anyone?

We ate at an amazing restaurant in Swazi called the Calabash.  MMMMM!

Mogi Hotel where we stayed 3 nights in Swaziland

We had another appointment in Swaziland to visit some wells for a project there so we booked at a different hotel to try something new.  It takes about 4 hours to drive to the country of Swaziland.  So we checked into our hotel at about 2:30 or so.  What a nice place.  Swaziland is beautiful.

I loved the trails around the outside of the hotel.  It was beautiful and interesting to view.

This part of Swaziland was very rocky.  You can see the huge rock I am leaning against.  They used the rocks very decoratively in their landscape.

 

 

trails around Mogi

Did you know poinsettas are trees?  I was amazed to see these poinsettas of all colors, red, white and pink all on the same tree.  All those poinsettas we buy at Christmas time could be grown into a tree if we had the right environment?  Amazing. 

I enjoyed the outside at the Mogi Hotel.  The living space was very comfortable too.  We were comparing Mogi to Summerfield.  Stan likes it as well.  Summerfield is still #1 in my book.

Shasheila

Shasheila is the office attendant in Nompie's office.  She speaks English like she lives in the United States.

Some of the materials purchased with Humanitarian money

Our Humanitarian fund purchased enough materials to refurbish 6 wells in Swaziland.  We are actually working with two partners in water in Swaziland.  This project we are partnered with the Swazi Government Water Ministry.  We traveled to all 4 regions to view the wells we will refurbish starting today.

Shizelwini well

There are two wells with similar problems.  THese dedicated water committees have fixed and fixed and fixed these wells until the pipes are pure joints.  They finally stopped working because they couldn't put another joint in the pipe.  They have been without water for 6-8 months.  THese people have had to resort to going to the stream which is nearly dry with the drought.

The joints that are causing the problem

Here are the joints that were taken out of the 1st well we saw.  There are several things that will be done to refurbish the well besides sending down new pipe.  We will pour new cement around the wells, build a fence around the well sight, put a locking gate and secure the sight.  The most important thing is the training for the water committee.  It is up to them to keep the water from getting contaminated.  They must keep out the donkey, cows, goats, chickens and other animals from walking around the pump.  They must monitor the use of the pump and keep the minor problems solved.  They must collect the funds to have an account to fix the pump when it needs fixing.  All the homesteads that use these pumps have been trained in using a latrine at their homesteads.  Hygiene training is in place.

This is a pretty good looking pump but the pipe and pump need to be replaced.  this committee has been very consistent in keeping this pump running.

We will support them in the good work they have done by refurbishing this pump so they can continue to have water.  There was one pump the water committee asked if it could be upgraded to a reticulated system which means pipes running the water to their homes.  Most of these people fill a 5 gallon bucket and puts it on their heads to carry a mile or further to their home.

We are happy the refurbishing is starting today.  There are a lot of happy people, including us.