building a well
You probably know that my dad, who came to the U.S. in his twenties, is from a small village in Nigeria. Since coming here, he has been helping to support the many family members who live there (as well as the Abiaka diaspora in the U.S. and Europe). His dream is to build a well in the village so that potable water is readily available. He's been raising money for the project through contributions from family members, but it isn't nearly enough. I think the best Christmas gift I could give him would be to help him raise the funds. I have been saving toward that goal, which will help, but it occurred to me that maybe my friends would be interested in helping too.
He wrote a brochure describing the project and why he is doing it:
The idea to provide safe drinking water to the people of Amuzu village was conceived several years ago during one of my visits to Nigeria. During one rainy afternoon, I noticed a mother in the village collecting floodwater into large clay pots. The water was going to be used for some domestic purpose. Although I did not speak with the woman, I made a personal commitment to do something about the village water supply. At the time, I was employed at an Arizona bank and felt that I would be able to carry out the project as an individual endeavor. A few years later, I left the bank to organize a consulting company that would promote U.S.-Africa trade, business and investment opportunities. My thinking then was that the activities carried out by the company would help to catalyze sustainable economic development in Africa through private sector entrepreneurship. This activity absorbed most of my time and resources, but my intention to supply clean water for the village was not forgotten. I grew up in this village and am well aware of the daily struggle involved in obtaining water for daily use. Information about the project is described in this brochure.
The objective of this project is to provide a safe and clean drinking water supply for the people of Amuzu village. Amuzu village is located in Ikeduru Local Government Area, north of Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria. At the present time, the only source of water is a narrow river located about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the village, which runs through several other villages. People in these villages frequently bathe and wash their clothes in this river. Obviously, by the time the water reaches the village nearest to Amuzu, it has become badly contaminated and unsafe for drinking or for domestic use. Still, out of necessity, the villagers use the water from this river for drinking, cooking and other domestic purposes. It’s no wonder that the illnesses that are endemic in the village are preventable infectious and gastrointestinal diseases caused by drinking unsafe water. The solution for the villagers, who are now walking two hours to get water from the polluted river, is just a few feet (meters) underground. What is needed is to drill a well and to ensure that there are proper systems in place for the villagers to operate and maintain it themselves.
Project Description
The water supply project is designed to provide at least ten gallons (40 liters) per person per day to the beneficiary families. There are about 200 families in the entire village with a population estimated at 2000. The population is concentrated in four contiguous sectors of the village, which is located on a vast flat land area where the soil is a mixture of sand and clay. The project will involve drilling boreholes and installing submersible pumps and a generator as a power source. Hydrogeological study of the area has demonstrated the potential for groundwater that is capable of meeting the domestic water supply needs of the village population for several years. Records of existing boreholes in other villages indicate that the average depth of ground water to be approximately 75 -90 feet (200-240meters).
The village consists of four sectors: Umudurujiwaku, Umuezeala, Umudim and Umuofoehihie. The first phase of this project would be to sink a borehole at the Umudurujiwaku sector of the village to be followed sometime in the future by sinking other boreholes in each of the remaining three village sectors. The timing for the second, third and fourth phases would depend on the availability of funds and the lessons learned from the first phase. Funding would be sought from donor agencies, NGOs and possibly microfinance to complete the remaining phases.
Cost Estimate for Phase 1
The estimated cost of the first phase of the water project is shown below:
Nigerian Naira (N) US Dollars ($)
Purchase (donation) of drilling site, preparation
and construction of mud pits N12,000 $100
Casing and installation of casing pipes N115,000 $960
Drilling chemicals (e.g., bentonite mud, mud additive, and barafos for mud treatment)
N148,800 $1,240
Water for drilling N30,000 $250
Drilling (local labor cost and professional assistance)
N300,000 $2,500
Gravel packing, grouting and well development N56,000 $467
Installation of submersible pump (includes installation of pump starter, installation cable, jointing kit, binding wire, control switch and indicator board) N420,000 $3,500
Riser pipes and couplings to be used to install the pump N60,000 $ 500
Maintenance N36,000 $ 300
Additional 3% of total cost for contingencies N54,000 $ 450
Generator N250,000 $2,083
Storage tank(10,000 liters) N200,000 $1,667
TOTAL COST N1,681,800 $14,017
Community Participation
February 2008 Visit to Nigeria to explore the question of donation or purchase of the borehole site, organizing and preparing villagers for project execution and consultation with a reliable organization in Nigeria that has technical expertise in rural water supply development.
March 2008 Start drilling of well
Purchase water storage tank
May 2008 Complete drilling well and install submersible pumps
June 2008 Test well water
July 2008 Phase 1 completed - well ready for use
Post Phase 1 Activities
If you would like to make a contribution, you can paypal it to me by clicking this button:
If you're still reading, thanks a lot. I'm eternally grateful. Really.
p.s. Please let me know if you don't want to be acknowledged by name to my dad or on a website that is being created.
He wrote a brochure describing the project and why he is doing it:
The idea to provide safe drinking water to the people of Amuzu village was conceived several years ago during one of my visits to Nigeria. During one rainy afternoon, I noticed a mother in the village collecting floodwater into large clay pots. The water was going to be used for some domestic purpose. Although I did not speak with the woman, I made a personal commitment to do something about the village water supply. At the time, I was employed at an Arizona bank and felt that I would be able to carry out the project as an individual endeavor. A few years later, I left the bank to organize a consulting company that would promote U.S.-Africa trade, business and investment opportunities. My thinking then was that the activities carried out by the company would help to catalyze sustainable economic development in Africa through private sector entrepreneurship. This activity absorbed most of my time and resources, but my intention to supply clean water for the village was not forgotten. I grew up in this village and am well aware of the daily struggle involved in obtaining water for daily use. Information about the project is described in this brochure.
The objective of this project is to provide a safe and clean drinking water supply for the people of Amuzu village. Amuzu village is located in Ikeduru Local Government Area, north of Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria. At the present time, the only source of water is a narrow river located about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the village, which runs through several other villages. People in these villages frequently bathe and wash their clothes in this river. Obviously, by the time the water reaches the village nearest to Amuzu, it has become badly contaminated and unsafe for drinking or for domestic use. Still, out of necessity, the villagers use the water from this river for drinking, cooking and other domestic purposes. It’s no wonder that the illnesses that are endemic in the village are preventable infectious and gastrointestinal diseases caused by drinking unsafe water. The solution for the villagers, who are now walking two hours to get water from the polluted river, is just a few feet (meters) underground. What is needed is to drill a well and to ensure that there are proper systems in place for the villagers to operate and maintain it themselves.
Project Description
The water supply project is designed to provide at least ten gallons (40 liters) per person per day to the beneficiary families. There are about 200 families in the entire village with a population estimated at 2000. The population is concentrated in four contiguous sectors of the village, which is located on a vast flat land area where the soil is a mixture of sand and clay. The project will involve drilling boreholes and installing submersible pumps and a generator as a power source. Hydrogeological study of the area has demonstrated the potential for groundwater that is capable of meeting the domestic water supply needs of the village population for several years. Records of existing boreholes in other villages indicate that the average depth of ground water to be approximately 75 -90 feet (200-240meters).
The village consists of four sectors: Umudurujiwaku, Umuezeala, Umudim and Umuofoehihie. The first phase of this project would be to sink a borehole at the Umudurujiwaku sector of the village to be followed sometime in the future by sinking other boreholes in each of the remaining three village sectors. The timing for the second, third and fourth phases would depend on the availability of funds and the lessons learned from the first phase. Funding would be sought from donor agencies, NGOs and possibly microfinance to complete the remaining phases.
Cost Estimate for Phase 1
The estimated cost of the first phase of the water project is shown below:
Nigerian Naira (N) US Dollars ($)
Purchase (donation) of drilling site, preparation
and construction of mud pits N12,000 $100
Casing and installation of casing pipes N115,000 $960
Drilling chemicals (e.g., bentonite mud, mud additive, and barafos for mud treatment)
N148,800 $1,240
Water for drilling N30,000 $250
Drilling (local labor cost and professional assistance)
N300,000 $2,500
Gravel packing, grouting and well development N56,000 $467
Installation of submersible pump (includes installation of pump starter, installation cable, jointing kit, binding wire, control switch and indicator board) N420,000 $3,500
Riser pipes and couplings to be used to install the pump N60,000 $ 500
Maintenance N36,000 $ 300
Additional 3% of total cost for contingencies N54,000 $ 450
Generator N250,000 $2,083
Storage tank(10,000 liters) N200,000 $1,667
TOTAL COST N1,681,800 $14,017
Community Participation
- Sweat equity such as refilling of trenches from the borehole to the storage tank.
- Assistants to the drillers and mason.
- Labor for the enclosure of the borehole area with barbed wire.
- Transport of materials to the various locations where the work is to be carried out.
- Assistance to technicians.
- Provision of lodging and food to the technical and skilled workers.
February 2008 Visit to Nigeria to explore the question of donation or purchase of the borehole site, organizing and preparing villagers for project execution and consultation with a reliable organization in Nigeria that has technical expertise in rural water supply development.
March 2008 Start drilling of well
Purchase water storage tank
May 2008 Complete drilling well and install submersible pumps
June 2008 Test well water
July 2008 Phase 1 completed - well ready for use
Post Phase 1 Activities
- Provide training in organization and leadership.
- Provide trained maintenance committee able to repair and maintain the capture, submersible pump, generator and storage tank and also resolve problems that might occur in the system. The maintenance committee will maintain the stock of tools such as wrenches, picks, shovels, mason’s trowels, etc. purchased for construction and could be used in future phases of the project.
- Each family in the village will contribute 200 naira (about US$1.50) per month to the maintenance fund, which will be put in a bank account and maintained by the treasurer of the maintenance committee. The maintenance committee will receive assistance in opening the bank account.
- The organization in Nigeria (preferably an NGO) that provided the initial technical expertise will work with the village to raise funds for the completion of the drilling of the other three wells. The organization will thereafter visit the village periodically to test the quality of the water and to organize a program of regular chlorination as necessary.
- The maintenance committee will provide monthly reports to be submitted to villagers during monthly meetings.
If you would like to make a contribution, you can paypal it to me by clicking this button:
If you're still reading, thanks a lot. I'm eternally grateful. Really.
p.s. Please let me know if you don't want to be acknowledged by name to my dad or on a website that is being created.