Far More Than 5 Wells in 5 Days

Samaritan’s Purse has been drilling and rehabilitating wells, or boreholes, in South Sudan since 2011 to help alleviate the need for water. Of 900,000 people living in this fledgling country, 70 percent of them don’t have access to clean water sources. Prayerfully, we’ll complete another 80 boreholes by the end of 2013 in states such as Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Unity. Read more about how Samaritan’s Purse is giving entire communities in South Sudan hope by drilling clean water wells.

Some fortunate families own donkeys, which they use to help carry the water they gather. Each jerry can holds around 20 liters.

Expensive drills are needed to reach 250 feet underground in order to access the water needed to provide new life for people in South Sudan. This rig is drilling a borehole for a community of around 400 men, women, and children in the state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal.

“We’re relying on God to see us through as we work to drill these boreholes,” says George Njure, chief driller for Samaritan’s Purse. “Your prayers and support will go a long way to helping us reach out to needy communities throughout South Sudan.”

Our TH-10 rig is on the move to another drill site. With current road conditions, it takes roughly three hours to travel just 25 kilometers. Once we reach our destination, a borehole can be drilled in two to three days and fully functional with a hand pump in about a week.

Josephina Nyibol, a mother of seven, used to walk three hours twice a day to gather water for her family. Doing so meant she had to leave her children home alone. This new borehole allows Josephina to spend more time caring for her daughter and six sons. “I’m grateful to God and Samaritan’s Purse for the gift of this water.”

Children who must help their mothers gather water often miss school as a result. South Sudan recently reported that 26.1% of their adults are able to read and write, which ranks as one of the lowest literacy rates in the world.

This borehole was drilled by Samaritan’s Purse in 2011. In the background is a church Samaritan’ Purse rebuilt as part of our Church Reconstruction Project. We raised 512 churches from the ashes—many of which were destroyed by Sudan military forces during the country’s most recent civil war.

These women in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state in South Sudan often leave their homes before 4:00 a.m. to gather water. They do this to avoid the blazing hot afternoon sun. It also means many of them travel in the dark, which leaves them vulnerable to an array of horrible risks.

All the hours spent gathering water provides many South Sudan families with an estimated 40 liters of water each day for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Compare this to Americans, who use an average of 8 liters just to flush a toilet once.

Some fortunate families own donkeys, which they use to help carry the water they gather. Each jerry can holds around 20 liters.

Samaritan’s Purse is working with communities to install and rehabilitate hundreds of hand-dug wells and boreholes throughout South Sudan. After a project is completed, we offer maintenance training to community members who will assume responsibility for upkeep, along with sanitation and hygiene education.

Women gather water from mechanized pumps located throughout the refugee camp in Yida. Samaritan’s Purse operates and maintains 11 of these stations. We’re also responding to this crisis by providing hygiene, sanitation, food, and nutrition services for nearly 75,000 refugees who have been forced from their homes in the Nuba Mountains due to bombing and starvation.

Children of all ages do whatever they can to help gather water, especially if their mothers are pregnant. Women don’t get a day off from this physically demanding work and for many it causes premature labor. As a result infant mortality rates are high throughout South Sudan.