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Hello ,
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From 26 July until 8 August I (Michiel Haanen) visited my brother Rik and his wife Dinie in Zambia. On 2 August we visited the Jacana office in Petauke, run by Douglas Mudenda. Together with two solar engineers, we took the four wheel drive and visited several sites where recently boreholes were drilled or people were actually drilling.
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Follow-up
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First we visited a village where quite recently a borehole was drilled. The hole was fitted with a small electrical pump connected to a solar panel. It pumped up a little too much sediment, which can damage the pump after a while. But it also makes the water less fit for human consumption. In an attempt to solve the problem, the engineers dismantled the pump, tried a different pump and fiddled with the filter.
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Solar pump installer, checking pump
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Later we visited another village, where some rope pumps and solar-driven pumps were inspected. If a pump is up to standard, it is fitted with a small metal approvement sign. One famer’s pump was producing mirky water. Just after, drilling almost all boreholes produce turbid water, a problem that is solved by intensive use. These boreholes are still “developing”, meaning small soil particles are washed out to open cracks in the soil around the borehole. The Jacana team urged the farmer to use the hole more intensely and decided to keep an eye on the waterhole in the future.
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Checking pump (where is nearest latrine?)
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Drilling
We visited two sites where teams of drillers were drilling new boreholes manually. At the first site, next to a village, a piece of equipment had been broken. When we visited, a replacement part was about to arrive.
At another site, in the middle of a farmer’s field, drilling was actually well on the way. A team of borehole siters had explored the terrain earlier and had marked a possible suitable drilling spot. Now, a team of four men were hauling up a metal rod and letting it plunge down a hole of already 20 meters, time and time again. When I was there the boring rod itself was being handled by the Jacana trained drilling engineer. Although the hole was already suitable to produce water, the engineer wanted to continue drilling to make it an even better water source.
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Reuben Banda and his team drilling
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Quality and cooperation
During my short time in the field, I saw that many people who were trained by Jacana, worked together and organized work together, called on each other for help and joined forces in formal or less formal cooperatives. The quality of their work was very important to them, as the inspection rounds and follow-up activities proved.
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Big impact
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People from developed countries cannot imagine life without easy access to clean, potable water, but this is a reality for many Zambians, especially in rural areas. To have a borehole in your village or near your field is a major step forward in development. It has many beneficial effects. For instance, it extends the growing season for farmers and relieves girls and woman from the daily task to walk for miles balancing 20 litre buckets of water on their heads, hopefully leaving more time for school or personal development.
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Women with baby fetching water at her doorstep
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Farmer and family making good use of an affordable solar pump
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I was genuinely impressed with the work of Douglas and all the people he works with and trains. And I am proud of my brother and his wife, whose organization Jacana is a great stimulus in all this.
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New board member
Floor Gijzen is replacing Dinie Nijssen in the Dutch board.
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Hi, my name is Floor. I am 22 years old and I am the newest member of the Dutch board of stichting Jacana. At the moment I am finishing my bachelors degree in international development at Wageningen University & Research. I plan on using the knowledge that I gained during this bachelor at stichting Jacana.
Furthermore I think of myself as an enthusiastic, spontaneous person, who likes to undertake many things and is always up for new projects. Besides this, I am the youngest board member at Jacana, which can bring new insights or plans on how to execute something, for both parties.
During my life I have travelled a lot and I have been involved with several development projects. I am curious to see what working at stichting Jacana will bring.
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Welcome Floor
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