DRILLING FOR WATER AT KIND HEARTS HAS BEGUN!!!

At the very end of the work day today, these photos appeared in my inbox from Ethiopia!!!  Drilling for water at Kind Hearts has begun!  We have dreamed and prayed about this project (and raised funds) for a little over a year and it is actually happening!!

Check out the groups of kids gathering on the hillside above the well site
to watch the prepwork and the drilling begin.  A momentous occasion
for the entire team at Kind Hearts in Ethiopia!!

The staff and kids at Kind Hearts care-point will now have access to fresh, clean drink-able water right on the very grounds at Kind Hearts.  Clean water will now be available for the 102 children that attend Kind Hearts - available for cooking and drinking, available for cleaning and hygiene.  Something as simple as washing your hands in clean water ... will now be possible at Kind Hearts.

I have described before how there is a river that runs near the schoolyard at Kind Hearts and many of the children have to cross this river to get to school.  The director at Kind Hearts explained to us how the water in that river is very polluted (from industries up river including an alcohol manufacturer and a leather factory) and cannot be used for drinking, cooking, irrigation or even basic hygiene like hand-washing, bathing, brushing teeth or washing clothes.  In fact, if the children step in the water by accident, any cuts or scrapes become infected.  If livestock drank from the river, they die - and of course the nearby fields could not be irrigated with this water either.  The pollution was even affecting the the area ground water.

So I was expecting to see a "polluted" river as we walked down into the valley.  What I was not expecting was the suffocating stench that clung to us like a wet plastic bag.  It wasn't the smell of sewage, it was the strong, toxic smell of chemicals.  As we neared the river, for many of us, the smell was too overpowering and we had to back away just to be able to breathe.  Lungs burned and eyes watered from this frothy brownish-yellow water that flowed in this river.

We knew a well was an absolute priority for Kind Hearts (a very deep well) - not only for the 102 children and the staff, but also for the car-point to be able to serve even more children and to become more self-sufficient.  A well would provide water for livestock, and irrigation for gardens and fields that are part of the 10 acres at Kind Hearts.  A well at Kind Hearts would also provide water for shower facilities and bathrooms and someday a chicken farm at Kind Hearts.  Now that the well project is underway ... all of these other goals become real possibilities now!

As soon as we get more photos and updates - I will be sure to post here right away.

THANK YOU to everyone who donated and prayed to support this project - especially to St Joseph Christian school in St. Joseph, MO who raised most of the funds with school-wide participation!!

Our next well project is underway at Trees of Glory care-point (2 hours North of Kind Hearts) where we are already half-way to our fundraising goal.  If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the well project at Trees of Glory (goal is to start drilling in November of this year!!)  ...

Go to www.hopechest.org, click on GIVE
Select DESIGNATED GIFT, specify ET2119000 in the Reference Number.
In the Notes area, specify WELL

Send me a quick email when you make a donation so I can track our progress in real time - at kjwistrom@yahoo.com.