“Twelve Houses Community”
How a hand pump can save lives

Twelve Houses Community used a simple, hand-dig well to gain access to water. A little girl named Stella stared into the large hole used for water and said, “Plenty things can fall in this well—palm branches, brush, money. . . .” A big smile came on her face when asked if she would like for the well to have a hand pump. Word spread that the well would be improving.

Many people quickly came to draw water from the well in Twelve Houses Community before the day’s work began; knowing they would be unable to get water for three days during the well reconstruction. It was raining a slow, steady rain. A tarpaulin was stretched and hung to cover the well and surrounding area. The workers and local people joined hands in a large circle around the well and prayed to ask Jesus to bless the work and provide the community with good, pure water for many years. We took the opportunity to explain to the people that just as they need water from the well to nourish their physical bodies, they need Water of Life, Jesus Christ, to nourish their spiritual bodies for eternity.

We explained that the work done to the well would not be for us, but for Twelve Houses Community in the name of Jesus. Therefore, we asked that the community “put hands together” to help complete the work. Immediately little children gave their best efforts to clear the area of rocks. Other people shoveled wheelbarrows full of sand and began to mix mortar to construct the platform (called an apron) around the well. Young and older people placed blocks around the perimeter of the well. With help from the community people, the Water of Life Liberia Country Director, David; the Well Team Supervisor, Semion; and the two workers Vincent and Austin, various jobs began to accomplish the task of refurbishing the well. The foundation for the blocks that go around the platform was prepared. Mortar and rocks were mixed together to form a strong base.

While the work continued, some people told us about their well. They guessed that nearly 500 people used the well. In the dry seasons when many wells produce no water, their well cannot go dry. When the water in the well gets low, they close the well briefly and water replenishes.

While the work continued, Semion took money to a local lady and asked her to purchase and prepare food for the workers. The sun came out bright but the bright tarpaulin remained, casting an orange tint on the area.

Observing the community, houses could be seen in every direction and people walked along the nearby dirt road going to market or other daily activities. To earn a living, people in the community sell small things: rice, fish, onions, or oil. Some have shops such as a drugstore. A young person said, “One rich man in the house with a green roof sells water and ice. He has his own well inside his fence.” The chickens wandered in the nearby yards. When asked, “What can you do with the chicken,” a child said, “Keep it so it can grow. Any holiday, you can eat it.” Some of the children can go to school, but “not many; money business hard.”

One little African girl, who is among those unable to go to school, looked up with her bright eyes as she pondered the strange sight of my white skin. With a seriousness that would not allow me to laugh at her question, she asked, “When your skin was black, did you have hair like mine?” Her question opened the door for me to talk with her about how God created each of us individually and made us all different. Oh, the interesting minds of children!

Work progressed quickly with the extra help and congenial spirit of the community. One young boy teased another one about being too ugly to be in a picture. Soon the people living in the house brought out a large bowl of rice and sauce and enough spoons for everyone working. There was a small bowl especially for us, the Country Directors, who were honored with chairs for sitting and a pitcher of water. When Semion was told that people in the home had cooked food, he said, “We will eat twice today,” since he had engaged someone else to cook also. Hard-working men can always eat!

It was a relief that the work was moving more quickly today than in recent days, so plans were made to continue into the afternoon. The wall around the apron was completed. After praying for specific words of encouragement for the community that I would write on the apron wall, I inscribed, “Just like Jesus loves you, love one another. Jesus is The Water of Life.” Lunch was completed, and the workers were quick to return to their tasks.

The concrete top of the well including the wooden door was removed. It was time to find out what was really in the well. A machine called a de-watering pump was used to draw much of the water from the well while laughing children and young people scurried to place large containers in the path of the spurting water. With agile skill, Vincent climbed into the top culvert of the well, placing his back against one side and his feet against the other, and moved slowly downward. After a very long process with Vincent filling bucket after bucket with sand and debris, and others pulling filled buckets to the top where a community man dumped the items in a pile, can you imagine all the things that were removed from the well? There were five plastic buckets with broken ropes, a dress, plastic bags, a number of wires, some metal, two pairs of scissors, and a gold chain. Items can easily drop into an open well as people hurry to get water during the day. Finally the process was complete, and clean gravel was placed into the bottom of the well to form a base for clear cool water to fill the well.

Near the end of the first day’s work, many men together carried the pump base cast in concrete and placed it on top of the well. Semion guided as Vincent and Austin smoothed cement to complete the seal on the base and the apron. And, of course, everyone went for the second round of food for the day!

On the next morning when the well team returned, people soon returned to help with the project. The well has served the people of Twelve Houses Community since the 1940’s. It once had a pump, but that was taken long ago. On this day, for the first time in about twenty years, a pump was installed into the well. A pump jacket had been purchased to protect the pump from thieves. Like many processes in Liberia, well work requires much patience. The pump jacket was too small and needed to be returned to the welder to be enlarged.

While that errand was being done, Semion, Vincent and Austin installed the pump. They measured the well to know how deep to place the pump. Then they cleaned and connected pipes end to end. Using ropes connected to the pump cylinder, the assembled pump was lowered into the well and attached to the base. The handle for pumping the water was installed.

By the time that the jacket was returned, the well pump was in the well. After his tremendous efforts to clean the well, it was fitting that Vincent was the first to pump water from this well.

A hand pump on a well? Why is such a simple thing so important? In a country that does not have electricity and other public utilities, people in today’s world continue to struggle to have the necessities of life. Wells open to contamination only provides water that diminishes quality and often even destroys life. The people of Twelve Houses say, “Safe drinking water can help prevent cholera, diarrhea, and other diseases. . . We need safe drinking water. . . It can help in dry season when water business can be scarce.” It becomes everyone’s business to try to find water when your throat is parched and the wells around you are dry.

We have been welcomed into the Twelve Houses Community, a community of primarily interrelated Bassa and Kpelle tribes. They are working to improve their community by having a zone leader that controls their safety. The community has an area where children play football (American’s call it soccer) and kickball. Many churches and even a few government officials live there. Responding to the question, ‘What are other names for God?”, The people answered, “Jehovah, Jesus, Emmanuel, Lord.” As we gathered again in a circle at the well, we praised God for the help of the community and for his name to be honored through his gift to them of his love and, today, a new well pump.

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