THIS IS WHY WE ARE HERE

Teeter totter
Bread and water
Wash your face
In dirty water.

Remember the old see saw rhyme?

 This morning, I hopped in the shower. It was nice and warm but it is unfiltered water of course. So you keep your mouth shut and don't drink it. The picture above is not my shower. It is a sink outside a toilet facility at a school. Many of the sinks in these schools do not have water because the wells go dry in the dry season or their well is an open well that has to be hand drawn as Jack and Jill did when they went up the hill. Not only that, when the well goes dry, the toilets have to be locked because there is no water to flush them.

Some schools do have water but the water is salty or has high bacteria count. It can be used for flushing toilets. So that is better than nothing.

All this sink needs is a tap and some water. Sounds simple, no?

Here is the process for bringing water to the pupils.

First the schools ask for some help from our charity. We have so many requests, it takes a while to get to the most needy schools. 

Then, we make a visit to the school and look at the situation to see if they have any sources of water that are underutilized; have wells that can be rehabilitated; or really have sufficient water for their needs.

This one is an open well that is used for hauling bucket loads out by hand to flush toilets(as they have been doing). It will be filled in once the new well is working.

If we decide we can drill a well for them, the well must be on high ground far away from any contamination. This is just a pond near a school.

 Our contractor begins pinpointing where to put the well once the contracts have been signed and approved by the school, village leaders and  Deseret International Charities (DIC is our charity that is funded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Also, the toilets we build must be far enough away  to not be a source of contamination later. 

This is Earl Jorgenson facing the camera. He and his wife are also serving as humanitarian missionaries here in Laos. The contractors in the distance are building toilets for the school now that the well is drilled. Our driver is the one with his back to the camera.

The water tank is then hoisted up so the water can be stored for use. The school builds a concrete and brick structure around the well and the pump so that the well remains clean and the pump isn't stolen. After the trenches are dug by the village residents, the pipe is laid to connect sinks, toilets and faucets to the tank.
A handover ceremony is held to turn everything over to the school so that they can take care of it and use it. It is a festive occasion.