By Dick Moeller
Today our traveling group will go two separate ways…..most of the group head about 2 hours north of Gondar to visit the majestic Simien Mountains, while Rennie and Dick will head to the field to visit a major W2T project in the village of Robit.
About Robit……
Our project in Robit is one of our largest water projects to date…..including a deep borehole 300+ feet deep, a 50,000 liter reservoir, a 30+ feet high reservoir platform, 8 water points and several miles of pipeline interconnecting the water system. The project is design to serve more than 7,000 beneficiaries in the village of Robit.
The project is nearing completion and has been underway for about 3 years. Robit is located in the flood plain of a nearby river that is prone to flooding. This has created substantial logistics challenges for the project, especially during the rainy season which is about to start.
Fortunately, the local government has almost finished a new road for the 10+ miles from the closest improved roadway to Robit, except for the last mile or so. It has been raining off and on for the last several days, and you can see from the picture above, that last section has it challenges. As we near Robit, we meet up with a electrification crew that is stuck in the mud trying to get two new poles to the project area. It gets stuck one more time before we reach Robit!
Once we reach Robit, we head immediately to the well head location to check progress. The picture above shows Tsegaye from our partner, Glimmer of Hope, explaining the well head and pipeline layout for the village to Rennie. The well head installation is complete with the submersible pump to pull up the water and pump it to the reservoir. The pump is connected to a nearby pump house were all of the electrical controls are located.
The first picture above shows the completed reservoir tower and the second is a close up of the top with a view of the metal 50,000 liter reservoir. When filled with water, it will weigh more than 120,000 pounds. The tower and reservoir are complete waiting for the water to flow.
Practically, the infrastructure for the system is complete. Shown above is one of the 8 water points, each with 6 faucets, that have been completed and protected with fencing. All of the pipeline has been installed and attached.
The final step is the electrification of the project. Shown in the picture above is one of the crew members working to attach the 3 phase power lines to the local transformer and then to the pump house. You can see in the background a ominous rain cloud…..about 10 minutes after this picture, a down pour started that halted work for about an hour. All of the infrastructure work and electrification should be completed in the next two weeks and the whole system will ready for testing.
Simien Mountains……
The group headed to the Simien Mountains National Park from Gondar this morning about 8:00 am. The Simiens are the largest and highest mountain range in Ethiopia.
The mountain range reaches over 12,000 feet in some areas. The vistas are plentiful and breath-taking. Truly one of God’s magnificent creations. The picture above shows one of the deep valleys, but it is impossible to capture the magnificence of His creation with a few pictures from our cameras.
Shortly after arriving at the park, we encounter a group of several hundred gelada baboons, the park’s most famous and plentiful wildlife. The gelada is unique to the Simien Mountains National Park and the world’s only grass eating baboon specie.
Later in the day, we all join back up at our hotel. A few of us head over to the Dashen Brewery to sample the local brew. Can you believe it, they ran out of draft! So we settle for some French fries and Dashen in a bottle instead. On our way back to the hotel, the main square area of Gondar is jam packed with celebrating Ethiopians…..Ethiopia had just defeated South Africa, just about assuring a place for the Ethiopia soccer team (the first time ever) as one of the 32 teams competing for the World Cup in 2014.
By Dick Moeller
Today our traveling group will go two separate ways…..most of the group head about 2 hours north of Gondar to visit the majestic Simien Mountains, while Rennie and Dick will head to the field to visit a major W2T project in the village of Robit.
About Robit……
Our project in Robit is one of our largest water projects to date…..including a deep borehole 300+ feet deep, a 50,000 liter reservoir, a 30+ feet high reservoir platform, 8 water points and several miles of pipeline interconnecting the water system. The project is design to serve more than 7,000 beneficiaries in the village of Robit.
The project is nearing completion and has been underway for about 3 years. Robit is located in the flood plain of a nearby river that is prone to flooding. This has created substantial logistics challenges for the project, especially during the rainy season which is about to start.
Fortunately, the local government has almost finished a new road for the 10+ miles from the closest improved roadway to Robit, except for the last mile or so. It has been raining off and on for the last several days, and you can see from the picture above, that last section has it challenges. As we near Robit, we meet up with a electrification crew that is stuck in the mud trying to get two new poles to the project area. It gets stuck one more time before we reach Robit!
Once we reach Robit, we head immediately to the well head location to check progress. The picture above shows Tsegaye from our partner, Glimmer of Hope, explaining the well head and pipeline layout for the village to Rennie. The well head installation is complete with the submersible pump to pull up the water and pump it to the reservoir. The pump is connected to a nearby pump house were all of the electrical controls are located.
The first picture above shows the completed reservoir tower and the second is a close up of the top with a view of the metal 50,000 liter reservoir. When filled with water, it will weigh more than 120,000 pounds. The tower and reservoir are complete waiting for the water to flow.
Practically, the infrastructure for the system is complete. Shown above is one of the 8 water points, each with 6 faucets, that have been completed and protected with fencing. All of the pipeline has been installed and attached.
The final step is the electrification of the project. Shown in the picture above is one of the crew members working to attach the 3 phase power lines to the local transformer and then to the pump house. You can see in the background a ominous rain cloud…..about 10 minutes after this picture, a down pour started that halted work for about an hour. All of the infrastructure work and electrification should be completed in the next two weeks and the whole system will ready for testing.
Simien Mountains……
The group headed to the Simien Mountains National Park from Gondar this morning about 8:00 am. The Simiens are the largest and highest mountain range in Ethiopia.
The mountain range reaches over 12,000 feet in some areas. The vistas are plentiful and breath-taking. Truly one of God’s magnificent creations. The picture above shows one of the deep valleys, but it is impossible to capture the magnificence of His creation with a few pictures from our cameras.
Shortly after arriving at the park, we encounter a group of several hundred gelada baboons, the park’s most famous and plentiful wildlife. The gelada is unique to the Simien Mountains National Park and the world’s only grass eating baboon specie.
Later in the day, we all join back up at our hotel. A few of us head over to the Dashen Brewery to sample the local brew. Can you believe it, they ran out of draft! So we settle for some French fries and Dashen in a bottle instead. On our way back to the hotel, the main square area of Gondar is jam packed with celebrating Ethiopians…..Ethiopia had just defeated South Africa, just about assuring a place for the Ethiopia soccer team (the first time ever) as one of the 32 teams competing for the World Cup in 2014.
About The Author: Meredith
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