Diary of drilling for water – Monday and Tuesday, 5th and 6th October.
The week started with one of our regular surveyors visiting all the planned sites near to Koudougou. This is a town about 60 miles west of Ouagadougou with many small villages around it. These visits occupied Monday and Tuesday.
The survey is a vital part of the drilling process! All the surveyors we use are fully qualified. Initially, they use geological data available on the internet to assess the geology of the land. Then, they visit the sites and use a sophisticated piece of apparatus which works by measuring electrical resistance between a number of points on the ground. At the end of the process, they produce a report which includes estimates of the depth at which they expect water to be found. When they have finished, they mark the drilling spots for the drilling team.
Diary of drilling for water – Wednesday, 7th October.
The drilling contractors arrived at a village near to Kokologho, a small town on the way to Koudougou. They have a lot of equipment to take – a lorry with the drill mounted on the back, another vehicle carrying the compressor and a lorry carrying piping.
They set up the drill and started drilling. At 67 metres, water emerged. The important question is “is there enough water?” The flow rate measured 1700 litres/hour – 1000 litres/hour more than the minimum required. God is good!
Diary of drilling for water – Thursday, 8th October.
Today drilling, moved to Ramongho. This is a village a bit further along the road to Koudougou. The request here was for the village and a nearby school.
We are happy to report that, in the goodness of God, this borehole was also successful. It is 60 metres deep and provides 6000 litres/hour! That is a wonderful flow rate – more than adequate for the village and the school.
The surveyor captured a short video as the water started to emerge. Click this link to take a look.
The well here will have a plaque saying “Simon’s Well”.
Diary of drilling for water – Friday, 9th October.
The drilling team moved to the blind centre. This is a place where a very kind donor has paid for us to try to drill a well.
We heard from Christine that the first attempt here was negative. The borehole reached 80 metres, but there was no sign of water.
This is disappointing, but not unusual – it happens in about 20-25% of places. So, we asked our supports for pray for a better outcome on the second attempt.
Diary of drilling for water – Saturday 10th October.
We had anticipated that there would be a second attempt to find water at the blind centre, but that was not possible.
Diary of drilling for water – Tuesday, 13th October.
Halfway through the afternoon, we had news from Christine. There was still a problem at the blind centre. The first borehole that failed last week was just dry dust as far down as 80 metres. This is why they had to call a halt. Without striking rock, there is no possibility of finding clean water.
However, there was a piece of good news which arrived in the afternoon. The drilling team were working at another village also near to Koudougou. Christine told us that this borehole was positive at 62 metres with a good supply of water – 3000 litres per hour.
So, we rejoiced about this and continued praying for the blind centre. Drilling continued there but the borehole was getting deeper and still no sign of water.
Diary of drilling for water – Wednesday, 14th October.
At 09:13 this morning, a message arrived on WhatsApp:
There are about 30 blind people who meet at this very basic “centre”. It was started by a lady who is, herself, blind, but it is no more than a hut with a shelter next to it really. Having water easily accessible will be such a help to them. The water will also be available to the people living in the village.
It seems that the second borehole was also looking very unpromising. In fact, the drillers were about to give up. However, the surveyor (who was overseeing the drilling) asked for one more push. Very soon afterwards, water appeared.
Here are links to two video clips that the surveyor recorded. Click to view them:
This first one show the lining being secured in place by back-filling the borehole.
Remembering to thank God
Remebering to thank God is so important to us. God gives blessings. We do thank God for every blessing and these wells are definitely blessings from Him.