Let us say at the start – Myra’s Wells is a Christian charity. We believe that this is God’s doing! Three new wells in one day is quite amazing, especially at this time of year.
In the rainy season
The rainy season in Burkina Faso extends from June until September. During this time, we very rarely drill wells. With most (if not all) our wells being located at places which are at the end of dirt tracks, which the rain will turn into muddy paths, the drills easily become stuck and cannot reach their destinations. However, God’s amazing provision of funds has made us want to continue providing wells despite the rains this year.
Poverty around Ouagadougou
In the more central parts od Ouagadougou, there is usually access to water. However, as little as five kilometres out of the middle, there are large areas where access to water is limited and even non-existent.
In our pile of request forms, we found five requests from places in the “greater Ouagadougou” area. These are all villages about 20 kilometres from the centre of Ouagadougou. We had previously requested more details of their situations and had decided that we would try to provide a well when the opportunity arose.
Here is a diary of what happened after we asked Christine to make the arrangements.
Monday 26th July 2021
Christine spoke to the surveyor who we usually use. He started out to visit the five places. Over the next three days, he was able to visit them all and had identified specific places to drill. As is the custom, he marked these spots with a little circle of cement.
Thursday 29th July 2021
Christine emailed us to say that the drillers hoped to start work on Saturday, as long as the weather held up.
Friday 30th July 2021
We sent out an email to some of our supporters asking them to pray about the drilling. To us, prayer is important.
Saturday 31st July 2021
At 19:29, WhatsApp pinged. A message from Christine said:
“Hello everybody I am sure you have been waiting for news. Boassa depth 70 meters water flow rate 1500 litres per hour”
We had, indeed, been waiting for news and this news was wonderful to hear. This is a photo of ladies waiting at the existing pump. It is at a school and is closed for much of the day, so the ladies hope to get water before it is locked. Out new borehole will soon be fitted with a pump and will be available for use all the day and night.
Two minutes later, WhatsApp pinged again.
There was another message from Christine:
“Saaba – first try was negative and we tried a second time. 54 metres depth, water flow rate 4500 litres. Praise the Lord.”
Saaba is large sprawling area on the eastern side of Ouagadougou. The specific part of Saaba where we were drilling is called Bissighin.
At Bissighin, they had access to a private water tower. The problem was that it ran out of water by 9am. So, anyone hoping to get water there after that would be unlikely to be successful. This picture shows ladies waiting until the tank is refilled. If they go home, someone else will be in the queue before them when they come back. Our new borehole will help them enormously when the pump is fitted soon.
Two wells in one day was amazing.
Just one minute later, WhatsApp pinged a third time!
This time, Christine said:
“Bassor 55 meters 6000 litres”
Bassor is close to Boassa, so the drill had been able to visit both villages. At both villages, the first borehole was positive. The problem at Bassor was that there were just too many people trying to use the existing pump. This picture shows the queue still there are midday.
Christine had arranged for two drills to be used, so the other drill had been able to make the two attempts needed at Bissighin.
Three wells in one day was more than we have even hoped for!
So, three wells in one day – but what about the other two places? Read the next news story to find out!
