One Thousand Wells by Jena Lee Nardella

Author:Jena Lee Nardella
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

Project: No. 127

Location: Sangala, Central African Republic

Partner: Water for Good

Currently the only operating water organization in Central African Republic, Water for Good’s team maintains a network of wells around the country like this one in the Sangala community, which serves a village of 337 people and is still operating today in spite of the civil conflicts that continue to destabilize the nation. Photo Credit: Jon Allen, Water for Good.

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A Bridge of Water

Less than a year after Joel and I had traveled to Africa with only a notebook of questions and possibilities, we were on our way back with the means to begin the work of 1000 Wells. We set out for five weeks to visit the East African partnerships that our initial fundraising efforts had supported. Joel planned to travel from East Africa to Uganda for a brief consulting job with another nonprofit. He found any excuse to get out of the classroom and into the communities, like I had in college.

This time, Moses picked us up with ease from the Kisumu airport. Elizabeth, Lillian, and John Gideon were with him. We embraced with a sense of homecoming and drove straight to greet the communities across the Kano Plains. As our bodies ricocheted inside the vehicle on the cratered road, we told the team about launching 1000 Wells, the radio campaign, the concerts, and the generous response from Americans.

Moses’s delight was palpable. “Just wait until you see the work that the communities here have done,” he responded with his big smile.

We returned to Karao village where we had met Joseph, the orphan with the skin infections. As we drove in I could see about twenty-five men and women seated under the shade of a large tree. They rose with enthusiasm and began to sing in their local language, what I would later know well as Dholuo. With hands in the air and hips shaking side to side, a small group of women approached the truck. I jumped out and greeted them with hugs and handshakes and then joined their line to dance.

And as I danced, I saw it. Just beyond the dirt path was a well. Our well. Their well. While the band and I were mobilizing money and volunteers across the United States, the Women’s Water Group team came alongside this Kenyan village to donate materials, help them organize, elect a committee, and complete their training in water, sanitation, and hygiene. Finally, John Gideon and his team came to drill. Now five hundred people were benefiting from this source of water—something they could not have afforded without the funds from Blood:Water or cared for without the support of WWG.

To show off the new well, a child was pumping water into a bucket. The community continued to sing. The women grabbed my arms and pulled me closer. I cupped my hands to the water and felt joy running through my fingers. I put my hands to my mouth and tasted this outpouring of love.

News reporters who portray Africa

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