Water Work:

Oh! Yeah that is what I came here for, other than to increase the temperature by 70 degrees. This is the hottest time of the year. The inside temperature was 100 on Saturday. No breeze.

I am here to help the LCCN restart its water program. The Danish mission ran a water program here for many years. Mostly, hand digging wells. The missionary that was running the program left and his Nigerian assistant operated it for a year or so and then left. My objective is to help them start and operate their own program. In 2008 I spent 8 weeks visiting over 100 sites and talking to many pastors, chiefs, village elders, women who actually do the work of getting the water, all seven bishops and government officials. Last year I spent ten weeks here “helping” them develop a vision of what the program could be. I put helping in quotes because what I ended up writing I think is more my vision of a self sustaining program. I included organizational charts with multiple ways of organizing. During the 2008 visits I noticed that many of the boreholes (here a well that is drilled is called a borehole) were no longer operating. Most stopped working within a year or two of being drilled. The first phase on my proposed plan is organize, train and equip borehole mechanics that have the tools and knowledge to fix the many broken boreholes. I was in one village in 2008. They had three non-functioning boreholes. They walked just over 1 kilometer to a spring during the dry season. During the rainy season they go to the stream that is only 500 meters away.

At last November’s church-wide business meeting they approved a program What that program is nobody seems to know. By email I have been asking what is the program and how can I help them. But the response has been that I should come so they can continue the work. Eventually, I decided that I should come and see what is happening. One of my biggest recommendation was to hire a manager for the program. One encouraging thing is that they have taken my version of teaching a man to fish. For the few projects they are doing, they are telling the people in the village, “We will help you get a hook and line, and we will teach you how to fish. We will help you market your fish but we will not fish for you. You have to fish for yourself.” Too often people will teach someone to fish but not make sure he has a hook and line or has a fishing license or has a concept on how to market the fish. UNICEF trained people in villages to fix pumps. But they never developed a plan to get the special tools or spare parts needed to do the work. If the pump was installed by the government they people will not work on it because they are afraid. The tool kits cost more than most rural families earn in a year or two. Parts are relatively cheap but are only available in Yola. It is a full day drive round trip to Yola from many areas. The part may be 500 naira but the travel cost can be more. Permission is not the problem most people think the Water Manager for Adamawa State Water, Environmental and Sanitation told us last year he will give us a letter of authority to fix any rural public pump.

So that is the background. I am here to work on the water program. But this week is the National Convention, several thousand people will be living at the Demsa Convention Grounds from Wednesday until Sunday. Elisabeth and I will drive in every day except Saturday. Yakubu will pick me up Saturday. Saturday is the day the different Diocese compete against each other to raise funds for the church. Most Diocese work hard to raise lots of funds. It is like a huge carnival. I am afraid as a Baturi I will be the target of the fund raising. They assume all Baturis are rich. I think that is why Elisabeth does not go on Saturday. On Sunday they will be ordaining new pastors including a Danish women that is teaching at the Seminary. Also the Bishop for the new Abuja Diocese will be consecrated.

On Monday I will go to the Bali region of Taraba State where the Jimeta Cathedral in companionship with Mount Calvary Lutheran in Excelsior, Minnesota have 18 Nigerian missionaries. Pastor Bunduku will be taking me on public transport. I will stay a week and then Elisabeth has been asked to visit. She will come at the end of the week and we will return on Monday. Then I start the water work.