We've now been in Doro for close to 3 weeks, and have (shamefully) not put up a second blog post in that time. We're very much enjoying life here, and have gotten settled in well. Slowly by slowly, we're learning how much really needs to be put out of reach of the pesky thieving dogs (including laundry soap and french presses, apparently!), but the new fence has curtailed their activity. Needless to say, everyone is exceedingly grateful for the new fence.
Since herds of goats no longer wander into the compound, we took time this past weekend to set up and plant our garden! We're now eagerly awaiting the first signs of the coming okra, eggplant, tepary beans, cow peas, pumpkins, cilantro and tomatoes. Especially the okra. And cilantro.
Planting the garden!
During our orientation to the water project, I (Ginny) learned how to use the water testing kit we have, as testing will be one of my responsibilities. Included in the kit is the ability to test for fecal coliform bacteria, complete with a mini incubator. The EPA drinking water standard is that there should be none. Among the water samples we tested were the barrel from which we get our water, and from our Katadyn ceramic filter, which we use to purify our drinking water. There were a number of coliform forming units in the source water, but in 100 mL, our filtered drinking water showed none. We like our filter. (Pictures of the test results below!)
collecting some river water to test
We get our water from the barrel by the shower. See all the little yellow bumps on the paper? Yeah, lots of coliforms.
But then it goes through a filter, and ends up with none!
Stephen has been going in to Bounj, the nearby town with a market, a number of times to meet with some church elders there about starting a vegetable garden project. The church has hired a manual irrigation pump from the water project, and the idea is that it could be used to irrigate the garden. They've cleared the land, and on Thursday there will be a work day to build the fence. Around here, a fence is a vital first step towards a productive garden, as the local pigs and goats would otherwise enjoy the produce long before it's ready for the people.
The cleared land for the garden. You can kind of see some indentations in the ground - we were told that this is where land mines have been removed.
One of my (Ginny's) main tasks during the first few months (while it's rainy season and it's hard to go anywhere) will be to undertake an evaluation of past projects. I've been spending a good bit of time this past week doing some of the preliminary work - spreadsheet templates, brainstorming, and literature review.
There is no doubt that it is rainy season! As I type this (at 9 PM on Tuesday, assuming it probably won't get posted until Wednesday evening), it's raining for the second time today, and I can hear crickets chirping and frogs croaking. Our Bata gumboots that we picked up in Nairobi were a beyond worthwhile purchase. Also, I'm not sure that I believe the stories about the heat here. Actually, I do, but thus far, it's only gotten as high as 90 a few times, I've used both the sheet and the bedspread all night every night for at least a week, and I've needed to wear long sleeves on at least 4 separate occasions.
Seeing as this is getting long, we'll leave you with a couple more pictures...
Joseph, a water project employee, explains the stall where he's selling flocculant and chlorine for water purification.
Setting up a tent roof so we can cook outside even when it's raining! Note the safety standards again - bare feet, and standing on a plastic table.
We share a desire to see God's name known across the globe, as well as a love of science and the outdoors. Our goal is to bring these elements together to find our place to serve. From June until December 2010, this means going to southern Sudan and working on a water project with SIM (Serving in Mission). We don't know what it means next, but we'll keep you updated here on the adventures life takes us on!
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