Vasayo Well 001

Vasayo
Vasayo
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

Introducing the first well under Vasayo’s One Hundred Wells project, partnered with Hearts and Hands for Humanity!
Follow the updates along with us to get to know the wonderful people of the Mapea Village in Magugu, Tanzania, and see the progress of their clean water status.

Mapea Village — Magugu, Tanzania

Location:
Eastern Africa, near the equator
-3.9910 Latitude
35.7585 Longitude

Sitting just to the west of Tarangire National Park, the village of Mapea lies within the Magugu area of Tanzania.

This area of Africa was seriously affected by the sleeping sickness epidemic of 1901–1905. Sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis) a parasitic disease transmitted via the tsetse fly which lives in dense undergrowth along rivers. During just these four years, one-third of the region’s population had died from it.

To combat the disease, British colonial officials decided it was pertinent to separate humans from tsetse flies. They ordered all Africans to move to fly-free areas two miles or more away from any rivers or lakes. As successful as this approach was to preventing the deadly disease, this move also caused great hardship to those who were relocated far away from any water source. In the 1940s, Magugu was established as part of this anti-sleeping sickness campaign.

Now, with the construction of a well, inhabitants of Mapea Village will finally have immediate access to clean water for their own health and sanitary needs as well as for their livestock. Boasting 760 primary school students and 2,700 villagers, an estimated 3,460 people will be served by Well 001.

On-the-Ground Updates

Below are well updates from Vasayo’s team on the ground in Tanzania, Africa:

The Mapea Sign
Arriving in Magugu

7/13/17
We have been in the village of Njani where we provided a water tank for the village hospital. We also spent a few days in Maruango providing a pump and generator for the village to activate a bore hole they had previously drilled, but was inactive. They now have water coming out of the well!

We are now in Babasi and will be drilling the well by the school house in Magugu. We are excited to get this, the first well for Vasayo, going! We will begin drilling this morning and should have it completed by early next week.

This is an amazing work we are doing over here…very educational and inspirational. The African people are so happy with so little that it makes me feel guilty for not being able to find happiness at times, even with so much. This is just the beginning of this life-changing journey for us and Vasayo. How blessed we are.

7/14/17
Water is required to drill the well but the drill truck that was bringing the water to us broke down. One of the teachers commissioned a group of kids to go about 250 yards to another source to get the water so we could begin drilling. These little kids were carrying 40 lbs. of water on their head! They make it look easy, but it’s not. I tried carrying water on my head and it’s hard. It’s been amazing watching the kids jump in and help.

Meeting with the school board
Assembling the drill for Well 001
Assembling the drill
Kids from the school
Kids with the drill
Assembling the drill for Well 001
The drill for Well 001 in action
Installing the pump
Completing base of well with pump installed
Finishing touches…almost done!
Completed Well with water flowing
Voila! Look at that clean water!
Completed Vasayo Well 001

Stay Updated!

Follow along with us on the Vasayo blog to stay updated on our 100 wells progress with Hearts and Hands for Humanity! To see the rest of the photos, visit Vasayo’s Photo Gallery.

Vasayo

Written by

Vasayo

Our mission is to transform lives physically, financially, and socially through Superior Delivery of products, opportunity, and community. www.vasayo.com

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade