Remembering an African well project

Posted on: Jan 2, 2019

After reading “A Long Walk to Water,” Delano seventh-graders had the opportunity to hear a firsthand account about an African well-digging project on Thursday, Nov. 29.

Students had completed the novel about water-related hardships in Sudan as part of their language arts classes. A grade-wide assembly followed, during which former Delano Middle School science teacher and current school board member Al Briesemeister shared about his experiences a decade ago in Zimbabwe. 

Briesemeister was a teacher at an international school in the capitol city of Harare from 2008-2015, teaching the children of diplomats from all over the world who were staffing embassies there. When he first arrived, however, the country was in crisis and the economy had collapsed.

“I don’t know if you can imagine this, but we were literally walking into a country that had no economy,” Briesemeister told students during his presentation. “In Zimbabwe, when we got there, a couple of mangos could cost $10 billion. Because of that, no one could do business. So there was literally no food in the grocery stores.”

Struggle for survival
The situation was just as dire in rural areas. Briesemeister explained that Zimbabwe gets almost as much rain per year as Minnesota, but nearly all of it comes during a brief rainy season from December through February. In the long, dry stretch between rains, it is very difficult to produce food.  

“You can’t eat dirt but you can eat grass, and that’s what these people were doing,” said Briesemeister. “They were boiling twigs from trees and old nuts that fell from trees with very little nutritional value. They were eating these things to try to get by until the rains came again and they could grow some crops.”

One of Briesemeister’s fellow teachers, Jeff Cumpston, heard from a local housekeeper about a mother in the housekeeper’s village who died from a combination of starvation and disease, and determined to do something to help that community. 

“We talked about it one night and he just said, ‘These people are starving,’” said Briesemeister. “Well, we decided to try to do something to help.”

The teachers, along with their wives, began buying food packs with money donated by the school community and transporting them about 50 kilometers to Chombo, a village of 50 to 100 people.  They would load about 35 packs, or 800 pounds, of food into two vehicles each and make the trek. One trip would provide enough food for the villagers to last about two months.

“Schools weren’t open. Policemen (and all other public servants, including teachers and soldiers) weren’t being paid. Every day people were trying to find ways to stay alive,” said Briesemeister.

Digging a well
The food trips were a temporary solution, at best, so Briesemeister, his wife Cindy and their colleagues took steps, in consultation with the villagers, to make their assistance more sustainable.

They purchased 100 baby chicks to use for eggs and eating, and helped build a coop. They purchased a cow as well, and helped the village obtain a corn bin for future crop storage. Seed and fertilizer were also purchased and provided. Ensuring an adequate supply of water, however, was a more difficult problem.

“Their well worked great when they had water, but when the rains left it was dry,” said Briesemeister. “So what do you do for eight months when you don’t have water? That’s tough.”

Briesemeister searched out a team of geologists, who set about finding the best place to dig a well in a primitive but effective manner. They came to the village and drove metal stakes into the ground in a large circle. Those stakes were connected by wires to the battery of a truck in the center of the circle. When the ignition was turned on the geologists were able to measure resistance in the ground and find basins of water.

The search was a success, but locating the water was only the first step. Next, a four-man team arrived to dig at chosen spot. Two used shovels, another shored up the sides of the hole with bricks as they dug to keep the sandy soil from collapsing, and the fourth lifted the loose sand out in a basket. After that team had dug about 18 feet down, the well was capped and a pump was added at the top. 

“The water was beautiful,” said Briesemeister, adding that no filtering or treatment was needed.

Aside from the initial food purchases by the school community, the entire effort to help the village gain economic independence had cost about $4,000. A large portion of that amount was contributed by Cumpston’s community in the U.S. after he died in a traffic accident early during Briesemeister’s second year. 

With a regular supply of water, villagers were able to plant crops and fruit trees during the dry season, ensuring an adequate ongoing supply of food.

Project’s end
By the time the well was completed overall conditions in the country had also improved, but political tensions remained high. The villagers were questioned by suspicious leaders in a larger town nearby about the source of the aid. They wondered if political rivals had done it to earn support.

“When we were done with this project the people from the village sent someone in to Harare to talk with us,” said Briesemeister. “They said, ‘It’s going to help us a lot. Thank you so much. But we can’t have you seen out here anymore because it is causing problems.’”

The benefits of water continued to multiply, however, as the villagers bargained with their neighbors to exchange water for clinical and educational services.

“They had their water, but they had to stay under the radar,” said Briesemeister. “That was the end of our project. We were lucky we got it done, and when it was done it was time for us to leave.”

Good experience
During and after Briesemeister’s presentation students had the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about his experiences in Zimbabwe. Highlights included visiting Victoria Falls on three occasions, various traveling excursions after careful preparations that included stockpiling gas, and life in Harare, a city of about 1.5 million.

“It was absolutely fabulous, everything about it,” he said. “The falls, the city, the people. I can’t say enough. I’d love to go back.”

Briesemeister also said he thoroughly enjoyed sharing his story with Delano students. DHS language arts teacher Melody Soderberg, who helped organize the event, said the assembly was a valuable opportunity for students.

“Mr. Briesemeister’s presentation showed the students that we can use our resources to make a powerful difference in the lives of others,” she said.

Post Categories: High School