Posts Tagged ‘water’

Needed: Clean Water

Posted by Rachel Chapman on Sunday, October 23rd, 2011
We hope to provide clean drinking water for the village and a source of running water for us.

In Las Moras, Mexico, the Nahuatl people have few options for water. Some haul it from a nearby stream where people also bathe and wash laundry. Some haul it from small, dirty springs that are often muddied by livestock. Some gather it from puddles when it rains. None of them have access to clean water, and many suffer from water-borne illnesses like typhoid and dysentery.

When we began working in Las Moras, we immediately identified clean water as one of the community’s critical needs. The remote location, depth and size of the well, and equipment needed to provide clean water placed an early cost estimate at $20,000. We are now earnestly seeking funds with the hope of raising enough money to drill the well in May 2012. The goal is to make clean water available for all the people who live there, including our team.

Would you pray with us that God would provide the money for the well?  Would you also pray that God would use us to show His Love to the community?

Would you like to help finance a well for Las Moras?

Call New Tribes Mission’s Finance Office at 1-866-547-2460 to donate with a credit card.  Specify your gift is for the Mexico Fund – Well Project.

OR, send a check made out to New Tribes Mission to

New Tribes Mission
1000 East First Street
Sanford, Florida 32771

with a note saying it is for “the Mexico Fund – Well Project”

Either way, you will receive a tax-deductible receipt. THANK YOU!

Water

Posted by Rachel Chapman on Friday, October 14th, 2011

As most of you know, we don’t have running water in Las Moras.  When we bathe, we do it here…

Bathing in the swimming hole.

Bathing in the creek. Can you see Katie waving from the swimming hole?

When we wash clothes, we do it here…

I'm a lot more picky about what is dirty when it means I have to wash it by hand at the creek on the rocks.

I'm a lot more picky about which clothes I consider "dirty" when it means I have to wash them by hand on the rocks at the creek.

Water for drinking and washing dishes is hauled from here…

There's a spigot at the school (white buildings) of water brought to our village by hose from a stream a little ways away.  Still has lots of sediment in it.  Still contaminated, but maybe not SO contaminated as the village streams.

At the school (white buildings), there's a spigot of water brought to our village by hose from a stream a little ways away. Still has lots of sediment in it. Still contaminated, but maybe not SO contaminated as the village streams.

We bring it in two barrels in the truck…

It takes an hour to fill up both barrels and bring them back to the house.

It takes an hour to fill up both barrels and bring them back to the house.

…then into the house by a 6 gallon container…

One of Josiah's chores is to make sure there is enough water in the house for washing dishes, cooking, and drinking.

One of Josiah's chores is to make sure there is enough water in the house for washing dishes, cooking, and to filter for drinking.

The Nahuatl live more or less the same way.  They bathe and wash clothes in the creek.

A neighbor girl washing some of her family's clothes.

A neighbor girl washing some of her family's clothes.

Some get their water from streams like this one next to the village…

Co-workers contemplating alternate water sources for the village.

Co-workers contemplating alternate water sources for the village. This is at the end of rainy season.

This is a creek by our village in the middle of the dry season.

This is a creek by our village in the middle of the dry season.

Others get their water from seeps like this one.

Seep at the end of the rainy season.  Very little water flow.

Seep at the end of the rainy season. Very little water flow.

The water they drink comes to the village by hose from a stream a little ways away.

Box that collects stream water that flows to the village through the lower hose.

Box that collects stream water that flows to the village through the lower hose.

There is no clean source of water in Las Moras.

We have contemplated different options to our problem and sought expert opinions.  The best, long term answer that would assure water even during the driest times is a well.  Some of the difficulties in trying to drill a well are the remoteness of our location, getting the equipment out to our village over the rough roads, and the finances required for this undertaking.

However, unlike the other options, a well would provide clean drinking water for the Nahuatl of Las Moras.

Washing dishes

It would also provide a water source for our houses.  The time we have spent in the past hauling water, washing clothes and ourselves in the creek, and filtering drinking water could be spent with the people learning their language and culture.

The faster we learn their language, the sooner we can share with them God’s Good Truth!

The estimate of drilling a well in our village is $20,000 dollars.  We already received gifts totaling $5,050!! Praise GOD!!

Would you pray with us for God’s provision for our water needs?

Would YOU like to help finance a well for Las Moras?

Call New Tribes Mission’s Finance Office at 1-866-547-2460 to donate with a credit card.  Specify your gift is for the Mexico Fund – Well Project.

OR, send a check made out to New Tribes Mission to

New Tribes Mission
1000 East First Street
Sanford, Florida 32771

with a note saying it is for “the Mexico Fund – Well Project”

Either way, you will receive a tax-deductible receipt. THANK YOU!

from Katie’s keyboard…

Posted by Rachel Chapman on Monday, May 31st, 2010

…an excerpt from Katie’s latest update…I’m sharing it with you guys because she describes very well what we’re doing this week…

Permanent Camping

Imagine that you are going on a camping trip for 5 months.  There are five people in your family and you need to pack all the food, supplies, clothes, and toiletries you will need in the back of one pick-up.  There will be no stores for miles, so you must be sure you have enough of everything.   There will also be no running water and no electricity, so plan accordingly.  You will need to take tools and supplies to work on building a house.  Good luck!

If you think you’ve got a handle on planning for such an event, please, please come give me a hand.  For the last week, the Alkires, Rachel, and I have been purging, planning, and packing for just such a trip.  We will be “camping” in our somewhat completed home through the rainy season, which may last until November.  We will be hauling water from the creek, sleeping on cots, and working to build relationships with the Nahuatl.

Water?

Posted by Rachel Chapman on Monday, October 26th, 2009
Hydrologist & his wife

Hydrologist & his wife

We had the privilege of taking a hydrologist friend of one of my partners with us on our last trip.  The men hiked all over the area investigating all the water sources within a mile radius of our village – springs, creeks, and seeps.  He determined that we have plenty of water to supply all the needs of the village and our own needs.

Our problem now is to get the water to where we need it.  Our friend gave us three options for how to get enough water and store it.  So, beginning with our next trip in, we’ll be working on the simplest/easiest option.  Lord-willing, soon we will be able to have water at our house-sites!

There is a spring about a mile away that flows year-round – even in the dry times.  So, we plan to tap into that spring and bring water to a storage above the village for us to use.  There is plenty of head so that we will not need any pumps!

Although it will take a bit of work to put this system in, it really is a simple solution.  And, there is a church that desires to help pay for part of the project!

Thank you, Lord, for providing the water that we need!

This is the box that supplies the neighboring village with water.  We will tap their spring downriver to supply our village.

This is the box that supplies the neighboring village with water. We will tap their spring downriver to supply our village.