BIG HOPE OVER BORE HOLE

The thirst for water can never be overemphasized in the semi-arid climate of Borno State. As I was traveling back from Kano to Maiduguri on Sunday, I noticed a bore hole and overhead tank in one village. Dozens of young men pushing carts with plastic cans line up to wait their turn to fill their receptacles with this precious liquid. As I continued driving from at least 1 to 3 kilometers, I kept seeing one cart after another being pushed to and from this village bore hole. If this much water is being pushed around in February from this distant bore hole, how much more will be consumed during the excruciating heat of March, April, and May!

On February 21, 2008, Zarma Water Services began drilling at the INTERCEP Pompomari farm site in Maiduguri. This caused quite a commotion during Day 4 of our food security workshop for Borno youth. However, Dave Goolsby used the background noise of the initial drilling to inspire hope in the trainees concerning the success of drip irrigation farming. The drillers from Zarma Water Services worked late that night to meet their goal of hitting the first artesian aquifer. To our surprise, on Friday after the workshop’s conclusion, they hit the first aquifer at 30 meters!

Nevertheless, as I traveled to Kano with Dave Goolsby and Randall McAdams on Saturday, Ebenezer Udofia reported that the Zarma drillers hit the second artesian aquifer at 42 meters! By the time that I arrived back in Maiduguri on Sunday, the drillers had hit the third aquifer at 62 meters! Then on Monday morning, they hit the fourth aquifer at 70 meters guaranteeing a steady supply of water for many years! They are now installing the 5” casing and screen into the bored hole to create a chamber for the PVC pipe. All along, one of our trainees at the August 2007 workshop, Ibrahim Ngamdu, was present to insure the quality of the project.

This is so thrilling to our farm manager, Ebenezer, that he is anxious to start supplementing the drip irrigation project with livestock after his marriage in early April. Our first target is to convert the existing water reservoir into a fishery with 200 fingerlings. Ebenezer testifies that the lucrative nature of Nigerian fisheries cannot be underestimated. Our farm assistants, Ephraim and Justina Tsesar, are equally thrilled to have a continuous water source to supply the drip buckets for vegetable production. Finally, our days of thrice weekly purchases of tankers to deliver water to the farm are nearing an end.

Also, we are looking forward to connecting a pipe from the newly completed overhead tanks to the outside of the wall. This will enable Pompomari residents to access clean drinking water during daylight hours. The hottest months of the year are just around the corner as we enter March, April, and May. This means that nomadic Fulani herders of cattle, goats, and sheep will be making regular pilgrimages through Pompomari in western Maiduguri to find greener grass in southern Borno state. This external pipe supplying water to the world outside our farm will be a witness to the amazing grace of the Almighty!

Ruwan Sama (Sky Water)

Water is so precious. In the Hausa language of northern Nigeria, you can never just say "water." You have to say "drinking water", "sky water", or "cool water." Water is a treasure. You can't just talk about water flippantly without qualifying what it's used for, where it comes from, or what temperature it is.

I forgot about this last night. When I went to pick up my toddler son, Musa, from bible class at the College Hills church, he was holding a cup of water. I told him it was time to go. He held tenaciously to his cup of water. I repeated "let's go Musa." That cup of water was not budging from his tiny little fingers. When I pryed it from his clenched fists, he bawled. It was then that I remembered. This 23 month old boy remembers how much we valued water back home in northern Nigeria.

I just received a call from our home Nigerian city of Maiduguri. My first question to the caller was "Yaya ruwa?" (How is the rain?). He responded, "Ruwa ya yi gyara." This literally means "The rain is repairing" which really means it is softening up the ground for planting. A Hausa speaker will never say "The rain is destructive" because "ruwan sama" is a gift from God. No one but God can ever control when, where, how, how, or if it falls.

I'm a bit worried because the caller actually said that the rain will soon end. This means that the long dry season will set in. In a good way in Maiduguri, there will be no more flooding, less mosquitoes (carrying malaria), and driving won't involve worrying about splashing pedestrians near the puddles. However, for the majority of northern Nigerians, this will mean that planting is over. This will begin the idleness of the dry season. "The idle mind is the devil's ..."

This close of this year's "ruwan sama" (sky water) will mean that we have to twice or thrice weekly buy water from the companies in Maiduguri who sell it in tankers. Then, the Pompomari community surrounding our drip irrigation farm will beg for water. We can't turn them down because our sign says "Intl. Centre for Peace, CHARITIES & Human Dev." Thus, the perpetual struggle will re-ignite between the need to water our drip irrigation farm and the local needs of the neighborhood. My prayer is that the Lord will provide a deep well with a solar pump for our farm to also help our local people quench their thirst.