on water wells

in 2008 when we first began the water well project, we raised enough money to construct 5 wells. however, when our field partner visited the village of about 400 families, he told them that if they were willing to construct the wells themselves, he was able to purchase enough materials to build 8 wells. the men in the village decided to come together to dig the wells instead of engaging professional well builders. so for two weeks, materials from the neighbouring town in another division were transported to the village. each well is typically 30-35ft deep. concrete rings are placed in the ground to prevent it from collapsing, and a stainless steel pump is used to draw water. the well is covered (by concrete) so water that is drawn is free from contamination and clean enough to drink (without needing to boil). USD200-250 (depending on currency exchange rates and inflation) goes fully into purchasing well materials.

our field partner who resides in yangon travels to this remote village (2-3 days journey) at his own cost. he visits the area a few times in a year and stays in the village till all the wells are constructed. last year, the money we raised was enough for 5.5 wells. our partner topped up the remaining to construct the 6th well. so this project is really a combined effort of many who believe in sharing resources. there is also a time frame to dig wells which is december – early april before the rainy season which stretches over several months.

the depth & type of construction play a significant difference in costing. there are some areas in upper myanmar that requires at least 70ft of digging before you reach the water table but in those situations, other methods like construction of water pipes from a water source may be the solution. but it is very costly to construct & maintain pipelines as well as getting permit to do so. location is a factor too as it depends on the availability of materials. open wells are cheaper and it collects rainwater rather than underground (purified) water. it is also easily contaminated by falling leaves, insects etc. it is still useful in many ways but as much as possible, we would like to construct covered wells that tap into underground water. the difference in costing is about USD120.

As water is needful especially in that region, we will continue to build water wells till every village in Sagaing have access to clean water.

Number of wells built: 2008, 8; 2009, 6; 2010, 8; 2011, 9

Click here for more pictures of water wells built in 2009 and 2010.