Sonya Mendez with village elders and key Addis Ababa Rotarians
We had to walk a while to get to the field. We are in the Great Rift Valley
It was a long and very bumpy ride to the Well of Hope in Samasenbet. It was one hour on pavement and two hours of bumpy dirt road, and then the same amount to get back. Whew! We had to hike a bit into the actual well site because the road has been planted with their grain teff, and they didn’t want to lose any of their harvest. There has been much progress on the well since I saw it last year. I didn’t realize just how big it was going to be. It has several distribution centers that the water will be pumped to. This will bring the water much closer to several villages and reduce their walking time significantly. It will also be pumped to the school. This well will service over 10,000 people! At this time, the transformer is not here, so the well is not operational. After the harvest of the teff, the transformer can be driven to the well and electricity will be connected. It is a very large and wonderful water well. This large project was initiated by a group of Rotarians from Hawaii, led by Sonya Mendez and is now called the Well of Hope. It is a very good cause to support if you ever want to donate money to a good cause. I have witnessed the well with my own eyes. This is even more proof that Rotarians are doing amazing things to improve the life of others all around the world.
Kayla with Samasenbet school children
I'm passing out school supplies
The village elders are so very appreciative of the clean water we are providing them. They brought us into their homes and fed us and treated us like royalty. Gifts were exchanged and speeches made. Several other villagers wanted to show us their appreciation the same way, but we were stuffed and we needed to get back on the road. It was hard for them to let us go. When we returned to Addis Ababa, we had a wonderful dinner at a local Rotarian’s home. It was a wonderful
Kayla's new friends above and below
Camels can spit and bite. We are a bit nervous behind this one!
No comments:
Post a Comment