Can you imagine the joy and excitement at the St. Lawrence School as the news traveled from student to student and teacher to teacher that clean water was gushing from the first QuartersForWater drilling site a half mile from the school. No more jerry cans filled with pond water! A real reason for rejoicing! Not only is the water sufficient for the school and health center’s current needs, but for its projected growth. Because of you continuing support CALU achieved what no one else had been able to do in Migyera as evidenced by the shallow wells now broken and dry.
In 2010, QuartersForWater funds enabled CALU to purchase 1 water tank for the health center, 4 water tanks for the St. Lawrence School, and gutters on the roof to collect the rain. The success of this system is purely dependent upon the annual rainfall in the region. While this has greatly improved the quality of life at the school, this system is unreliable as a long-term solution.
Private donations, a grant from Merck & Co. Inc., and the leadership of educators in teaching students to understand their role in addressing global challenges in today’s world enabled us to take the next steps toward a permanent solution: drilling a deep well. After an extensive hydrological survey, we drilled a 510′ deep well in November 2011. The excitement of finding a plentiful supply of water for the school and health center in this semi-arid land is hard to contain. It is amazing that water was found on the first try. All of us, students, parents and those who contributed to Quarters for Water can celebrate with our CALU staff and students in Uganda the great success of this project.
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Fr. Lawrence recently reported on our next steps: “What we need is to get water from the drilled hole to a main tower and then distribute it. This sounds simple, but it is something that requires a design based on a topographical survey to know the make up of the land from the well to the school, how the pipe will be laid to avoid various obstacles and eliminate future damage to the water pipe line. From this survey, we shall know the exact costs involved.”
During 2012, our focus is to raise funds to complete the project: a permanent well,
pump, water tank, and pipeline system. This will allow the school to have access to a sustainable water source.
You can celebrate the United Nations World Water Day on March 22nd by going to our website and making a donation to QuartersForWater and help give clean water to our children. To learn more, click QuartersForWater to view our video.
Click here and choose “bulleted list” of ideas in the 3rd paragraph to help you lead this initiative at your school or in your community and call CALU President, Jean Semler for additional information. Thank you in advance for your leadership and participation. Your leadership affords all of us the opportunity to become active global citizens.
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