Clean water is the basic amenity that everyone deserves to have, it is essential to a healthy existence. In Sumba the ancient hilltop villages are far from the water sources in the valleys below. The women and children must walk miles to fetch just one bucket of water. Our surveys of the villages, schools and clinics found that 90% do not have a water source within a reasonable distance (less than a half mile). As a result the hygiene conditions are appalling and an ideal breeding ground for disease.

For example, lack of water and toilet facilities at a school means that each day, 200 children must go to the bushes when nature calls, afterwards there is nowhere to wash their hands.  Imagine clinics where the nurse or midwife has only a bucket of unclean spring water to use for cleaning wounds and equipment.

We have been drilling and digging wells for six years providing clean water for thousands of villagers, school children and the sick visiting our clinics. The changes water makes in peoples lives are immediate and clearly visible. Within months the overall health and well being of a village is transformed for the better, the students at the schools are cleaner and healthier in appearance and the hygiene conditions of clinics and villages are vastly improved.

OUR GOAL IS TO CONTINUE TO BUILD NEW WELLS AND TO MOVE CLEAN WATER TO THOUSANDS OF MORE PEOPLE EACH YEAR

HAND DUG WELLS PROVIDE CLEAN WATER & FOOD FOR VILLAGES  - GIVE A VILLAGE A WELL FOR ONLY US$2,000

Our team can complete up to 10 hand-dug wells in a year. For late 2008 & 2009 we have targeted many springs that are suitable for this type of well. We start by digging the well to a size that will provide the water needs for the village or, where possible, for several villages.

The wells are lined with stone and cement and then covered with a corrugated tin roof. The completed well has a hand pump and washing platform for the villagers to use. These wells provide clean water and change the lives of the people living in the nearby villages.

Some of the wells can also be used for small scale crop irrigation in our farming projects. Each well can be fitted with a small mechanical pump that can be used to irrigate up to an acre of nearby land providing not only water but also food for the village.

THE SODAN WATER PROJECT  - US$23,000

Sodan is the center of Sumbanese ancestral culture. For those of you who have been to Sumba you will have seen these ancient villages far up on the top side of the mountain in Lamboya. There are more than 500 people living in four spectacular villages that for centuries have been strategically situated thousands of feet above the river. All are far from any water source. Each day the women and children in these villages must walk more than two miles down to the river and then back up the mountain carrying water, one bucket at a time. Doing it once a day is tiring, having to repeat the trek two to three times a day is absolutely exhausting.

For years these people have been asking for our help and have been patiently waiting for us to reach out to this part of Sumba. We have finally arrived at the base of this mountain and with funding we will be able to help. We have surveyed the area and found a spring thee miles above the villages. We can tap into this spring and gravity feed the water down to the villages. We can create the foundation for a healthier and more productive life for these people. This project will not be easy but our team has the experience to do it.

This project requires a generator & submersible water pump, 8 water storage tanks, 14 water stations and 5.5 miles of pipe.

THE PATIALA BAWA WATER PROJECT  - US$26,000

This is the second in a series of major water reticulation projects that we have planned for 2009 and are seeking funding for. The Patiala Bawa Project will provide water to 1,285 people living in 6 villages and also water for a school and a medical clinic.

This project requires a generator & submersible water pump, 13 water storage tanks and 2.5 miles of pipe. There will be 13 water stations where people can access clean water from.

THE PATIALA DETE WATER PROJECT  - US$28,000

This is the third in a series of major water reticulation projects that we have planned for 2009 and are seeking funding for. The Patiala Dete Project will provide water to 1,075 people living in 8 very remote villages and this project will also bring water to a school and medical clinic.

This project requires a generator & submersible water pump, 12 water storage tanks and 4.5 miles of pipe. There will be 14 water stations where people can access clean water from.