Joy in the Journey: First Week Progress

This report is from our beloved Francis who is on the ground making all of this happen for us:

Day 1 (Tuesday Night);

This involved the collection of filtering sand from lake victoria which would be used to secure the the drilled borehole flash points. These were transported from Entebbe to Kayabwe using the blue truck on tuesday night and arrived in Kayabwe Wednesday morning. Included in this trip was the transportation of the drilling team and the equipment and all the necessary site material so that when work commences; unless otherwise badly needed, we had all the items on site like the pipes.

Day 2 (Wednesday);

The drilling team had to be settled into their lodging quarters and ammenities such as food supplies, pre-inspection of the sites to finally check especially the firmness of the trucks pathways and also clearing the drive way. Any slight mistake in as regards the firmness of the pathways would spell disaster; The trucks could tip over, get stuck or the drilling equipment get broken while on unplanned transit. So all these had to be taken into account. Part of the drill team had to ascertain this integral part of safety.

I had to get a cook for the drilling team from the community. This not only helps the team to feel a part of the community they have gone into but also for the community to feel that they are a part of what is happening on the ground. It is more like a bonding thing!

It is rainy season here and the trucks had to be fitted with traction tyres so as to be able to move from the paved roads conditions to the more difficult inner village slippery terrain.The process of changing the tyres and fitting literally took the whole day.

There was the cleaning of the Water drilling rig, The compressor Machine and the servicing of the drilling equipment to make sure that there is smooth uninterupted work once on site.

There was a heavy downpour which would have hampered the truck movement and even the drilling process. It is never a good idea to drill while there is rain because of collapsing drilled walls into the well.

Day 3 (Thursday);

There was full sunshine and no overcast skies and definitely no rain. We departed for the first site at 9am, and set up the equipment at site 1 - which I will call Kirabo 1 site. This is the site near the kitokolo Primary School and Godlive. The actual drilling, began at about 1.00pm local time and by about 4pm we had hit the jackpot and there was water gushing even as the drill team continued to the required depth. There is still more work to be done in Site 1. So first thing tomorrow morning we are going there to tie up the loose ends. God-willing, we will start drilling in either site 2 or 3, depending on the weather patterns. Both remaining wells offer very challenging terrains especially with the heavy trucks and mud on the paths. But as long as there is sunshine, all should go well.

Was able to mobilise the community in Bugeye to clear the passage to Kirabo 2.