Water for Kisamba

Yesterday's visits of rural villages was going to be so routine, that I was going to blog on the misadventure of crossing the Lualaba (Congo River) on the railroad bridge and trying to ride along the tracks. FYI the steel rail ties have date stamps as early as 1945 and as late 1956.

We were having a normal check-in with the village of Kisamba, with its small, weather-worn, grass-roofed church building, and its neatly stacked brick pile waiting for construction; typical. Then the chief showed up, unexpectently. He invited himself to our meeting. The chief has very little power, except for his powerful presence. He gets things done by holding court. His primary function is to provide for the welfare of the village. He is also the one who assigns land use.

The chief wanted to talk about the need for clean water. Cholera is severe in the Bukama Territory. However, he had very strong opinions on what kind of pump will not work, and what kind is needed. He knew the depth of the water table and could speak the language of an engineer. (Mumba was translating from Kiluba into French for me.)

When he had made his point on the need for a water well, he offered to the United Methodist Church a large land consession on which we could build a new church, parsonage, school, foyer, clinic, etc. (He let us know that he had made the same offer to the Catholics. Chiefs often play the Catholics against the Methodists. There is enough need, that a bit of friendly competition is good for all.)

This is where we want to be: in a place where local leadership owns the problem, has researched it, and makes leadership decisions. When you drop out of the sky with a water well, good things happen imediately. The health and prosperity of the community goes up, so much so, that the population of the village swells. Then the well breaks, and it will break. All the good collapses and the only hope is for someone from outside to return to fix the well. But they're not coming; they've moved on to the next well project.

This is a village ready for a well. And we want that well drilled by a local drilling company who will be there when it breaks. BTW FPM has access to a drilling rig, just sitting in Mulongo waiting to be reconditioned and put to work. It could be transported to Bukama easily on the Indiana.

Bob
Bukama