After 9 years and 4 different well companies, there is finally clean water flowing in the the remote village of Anjabetrongo, Madagascar. A National NGO called SAGE funded the project through SGP ( Small Grant Program) and World Bank. It took an Indian drilling company 3 weeks to dig down 86 meters (about 282 feet) where water was finally found.
Some said this day would never come, that water could never be a reality in this arid desert habitat with towering baobab trees – and with good reason. When we contracted the first well company in 2005, we didn’t know what we were getting into – and neither did they. Having dug dozens of successful wells throughout the country, it was reasonable to expect that this local company would achieve the same success in Anjabetrongo.
After a contract was signed, we rented a large truck, gathered the necessary supplies and ferried the well team and a construction team out the to the village – about a 10 hour trip to travel 62 km. Picture large pipes clattering around in the back of an ancient truck with no shock absorbers on a road that is more rut than road – with about 15 people holding on for dear life as they bounced mercilessly up and down on stacks of sheet metal. But we were happy because at the end of it all there would be water for the villagers….we believed!
For the next ten days the men dug the well by hand – backbreaking work in brutally hot weather. The work was hard for all of us but the villagers were hopeful – we were all hopeful. Everything came to a halt one afternoon when one of the workers fell down the well, dislocating his shoulder. After being yanked back into place and slathered in steaming ox manure, his shoulder recovered quickly, but now the people were afraid. They were afraid that the ancestors were angry because we had not sacrificed an animal and asked their permission to dig in the ground. They were afraid that worse things could happen. That night the very young church gathered in the darkness to pray and worship and when morning came the workers decided to continue – without a sacrifice – if we promised to gather at the well to sing and pray whenever they worked. We believed fervently that God would have mercy on this suffering people and provide water…and we promised them that water would be found in some way, at the right time.
Years passed, more holes and deeper holes were dug as well companies came and went – but no one had the serious equipment we obviously needed. Our partner Jonoro never gave up and continued to network with various agencies and organizations to bring focus to this needy region….to help people see the Mikea and Masikoro people struggling to survive in a hostile environment.
And now there is a well and a pump and people lining up with water containers. Jonoro and Hanitra drank wonderful, clean water from this well on their recent trip to distribute emergency food supplies after the cyclone. They tell us that people in surrounding villages who have been waiting for this moment are eager to move into Anjabetrongo – where there is a growing church, a growing school, access to regular medical care and now – clean water.
We are grateful.
