The Pump Has Arrived!!!!

We just received this email today from Andrew Gomez, Friends of Penyem's representative in the village:

Hi Brae,
Thank you very much, yesterday was a day if happiness to the villages women. I wish you were there with me and see the how the women were happy. They call me and ask me if is real the pump, and whether the bole-hole will soon work. I told them it will soon work and think you will start haven water by Monday, because the engineer will work on it on Saturday morning. Prayers were coming everywhere.

Thank you to all Friends of Penyem supporters who made this huge success possible!


The pump is long and cylindrical and extends down inside the "bore hole." A turbine inside the cylindrical shaft turns and draws water up the shaft, from which it pumps throughout the pipe system extending to all areas of the village.








The men in the village, along with a Gambian engineer, work to install the pump.

What's Next - Water Tank

While FOP has achieved a huge success for the village in bringing the water pump back to functionality, there is still more work to be done on the water system to bring it to fully capacity for use by the village. We learned that the village has outgrown the water tank currently being used to store water for use by the village. At peak usage times, the tank is drained, and, at night, when the solar power is no longer available to power the pump, the tank is not re-filled. In fact, Chief Kolley has decided to impose a rationing system once the pump is functioning again to reduce strain on the system.

Currently, FOP is investigating the best solution to this problem. Possible solutions include (1) a battery-pack to store energy during the day, allowing the pump to work around the clock or (2) a larger water tank. It is important for the health and economy of the village to have relatively easy access to clean water.

What's Next - Scholarships

During our trip, we had many conversations and discussions about the next project for FOP. The most immediate smaller-scale project will be providing scholarships for at least 3 students from Penyem. At least one of these scholarships will be awarded to a female. Many families have only enough money to send some of their children to school, and the education of female children is often not a priority.

During our visit, FOP provided Chief Kolley and the VDC (Village Development Committee) with scholarship applications that can be distributed to worthy students. The applications will be mailed to us at the end of June and decisions will be made by the end of July. We're excited to have the opportunity to assist students in continuing their education. Penyem has many very talented students who are unable to attend school and learn marketable skills because of financial limitations.

With relatively small contributions, FOP will be able to make a relatively big difference in the lives of Penyem youth. For example:
$100 sends a student to private high school for one year (a.k.a. senior secondary school)
$40 sends a student to middle school for one year (a.k.a. junior school)
$200-400 sends a student to technical school for one semester (i.e., computer maintenance, IT, automotive engineering, electrical engineering, nursing school)

Since primary school is heavily subsidized by the Gambian government, FOP will focus scholarships on higher levels of education, where students are more often forced to discontinue schooling for financial reasons.

The Village

Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of our team this trip was to make great connections with the village and with the Chief, Kalilu Kolley. Through many discussions and meetings, we learned about the real concerns and goals of the village. We believe that open communication and discussion with the village about its needs and solutions is crucial for the success of Friends of Penyem.

In this photo, Seth and Brae are meeting with Chief Kolley (right), Sanna (the Village Development Coordinator, center) and Andrew (FOP's local representative and our host, to the left of Sanna) to discuss the pump project and future projects for FOP.


When we first arrived in Penyem, the village gathered outside the community center for a village meeting. Seth and Brae thanked the village for welcoming us and explained the role of Friends of Penyem in the pump installation and repair. The Chief welcomed us to the village and encouraged us to get to know the people in the village. A member of the Village Development Commitee (VDC), CeeDeey Nyassi, expressed gratitute on behalf of the village for FOP's work to repair the pump - explaining that the pump provides neccessary health and economic benefit to the village. Here are the women sitting under the mango tree for our welcome meeting.

Constructing a West African Fence

The American crew has returned from our journey to The Gambia. It was a success ! While we were there, we put into place all the logistics for installing the pump, which arrived in The Gambia on June 1. We also began construction of the security fence to protect the pump house and solar panels from theft.

Russ and Marc dig a trench for the foundation of the concrete fence.

After the trench was dug around the entire area to be fenced, the villagers showed us how to mix concrete with shovels. (The concrete mixture is composed of bags of cement, sand, gravel and water.) A 1/2" foundation of concrete was spread throughout the trench. Concrete blocks made by the villagers will be set on top of the foundation by the village mason.

Because most villagers are forced to use the hand pump at the center of the village, water in the village is a valuable commodity. Oftentimes, by late afternoon, the hand pump is slow to deliver water as the well begins to go dry. For this reason, Chief Kolley has asked the villagers to halt construction projects until the solar-powered pump is repaired. Likewise, our construction project was slowed by the difficulty in obtaining water at the project site. Our makeshift solution was to fill this blue barrel and roll it down to the project site - about 200 yards away! (In case you've never tried rolling a barrel full of water, it's harder than it looks!) Even so, we couldn't use much water for fear of exhausting the drinking and cooking water supply for the village.