Engineers Without Borders USA Mississippi State Chapter (EWB-USA MSU)  traveled to Simwatachela, Zambia, with a focused goal: to drill a well. But before the drill broke ground,  celebrations had already begun. Leonard, headsman of the Siamabwe Village, greeted the team with a prepared goat – a rare delicacy in the village. The community was celebrating simply because the team showed up.

Dennis Truax, the EWB-USA MSU Chapter’s faculty advisor, said their arrival to Siamabwe signified that the people’s needs there had not been forgotten. The Chapter had actually spent months developing a method that could bring year-round water to the village.

The previous summer, a team from EWB-USA MSU conducted an assessment trip in this vast rural region. People there suffered from hunger and disease due to a lack of water.  The community’s water supply came from polluted, stagnant pools often shared with the region’s wildlife and livestock. The pools that don’t dry up during the six-month dry season contain harmful bacteria that cause cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis A.

The team determined that hand-pumped wells were the best solution to the water shortage. Once they had a plan in place, it was time to return to Siamabwe to implement the system.

The day after their celebration, they set out to drill the well. But once the drilling commenced, the celebratory mood from the day before quickly diminished. The first borehole was dry. Despite a year of planning, they did not hit groundwater.

The EWB-USA MSU team work alongside community members to construct a well.

The discouraged students worried that the community’s celebration had been premature. Laura Wilson, president of the EWB-USA MSU Chapter, feared that they were failing Leonard and his village.

But the community members were invested partners in this water project, and they never lost confidence that the team would succeed. Laura said Leonard and his community remained enthusiastic and committed to implementing a working well throughout this initial setback.

The next day, the team moved a few miles away to try another site. This time they hit substantial groundwater. Cheers and laughter filled the air–perhaps none louder than Leonard’s. “I am very most happy!” he shouted as the water began to flow. His words reflected the entire team’s joy.

Leonard, headsman of the Siamabwe Village, celebrates as the team discovers water at their second well site.

Photos courtesy of Beth Wynn, Mississippi State University