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Protected: Volunteer Hours

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:04:53 +0000

Uganda…Final Thoughts

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:45:40 +0000

As our time in Uganda ends, I have some final thoughts and observations to leave with you.

First, the need for clean water was overwhelmingly evident everywhere we went in Uganda and Ethiopia, especially in the village of Bunyagira, Uganda, where Hope Springs Water is drilling a water well for the 650 inhabitants. From the turnout of village leaders to greet us upon our arrival, to the unexpected treat of singing and dancing for us by the local school children, the excitement filled the air in the area. As we hiked down the steep hill for 30 minutes to the swamp that served as the only water source for the village, and realized the difficulty encountered by carrying 80 pounds of water back up the hill (I had trouble hauling ME back up the hill), I easily envisioned how one could get excited about having a well, with clean, safe water, located at the top of the hill, more easily accessible by the majority of the villagers.

Second, our initial idea of trying to build sustainability into the project, and include sanitation and public health education, was reinforced by seeing and hearing about the WASH program (water, sanitation, and hygiene) that seems to be included in all viable water projects in the developing world. Knowing that we are proceeding along the right track, and gaining a better understanding of all that is needed for that to work, took us well along the path to ensuring that the projects that Hope Springs Water is involved in will be beneficial to the affected community for a long time into the future. Having local involvement and “buy-in” into the project is essential to the success of the project.

Lastly, we returned to the United States with an even greater resolve to continue our efforts to help end a very real human tragedy that continues to play itself out millions of times every day. We are often told that we are too small, and there is nothing that we can do to help solve such an overwhelming problem. And yet, here we are-with the help of those who also believe in what we are trying to do, Hope Springs Water has drilled four wells that have brought hope into the lives of several hundred people who would not have otherwise had any hope for a better, healthier future. It is our belief that God expects us to provide assistance to those in the world who are less fortunate than we are, and that He will continue to smile upon our efforts as we strive to end the ongoing cost in human suffering brought on by a lack of clean, safe drinking water.

We thank everyone who has helped in this effort, and we challenge you that the fight has just begun, and it will not end until everyone on earth has clean, safe water that is readily available for their use. God bless you all-Let’s keep rolling!

C. Ted Mettetal, M.D.
Executive Director, Hope Springs, Inc.
Athens, Texas 75751

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:55:27 +0000

On Thursday we boarded a local bus and traveled 6-7 hours to the southwest of Uganda very near the border with Rwanda and bet Michael ana Ainsley, a wonderful Australian couple who work for LWI in Ntungamo. We spent the afternoon visiting with local workers who go into the schools where wells have been dug to do evaluations of their knowledge of hygiene and health in general, and they teach students in the schools how to teach the other students health education. Then they return a month later and go into the homes of teh children and are amazed to see that the kids have transfered their knowledge into action within their homes-have set up hand washing stations, and handle the waste better and are starting to build latrines. Another important aspect of the whole process is sustainability of the water point. Much time is spent talking to the water committee over each well to help them understand the necessity of all users of the well having a “buy-in” to the project by helping keep it clean and functioning. They will need to pay a small amount for the use in order to be able to repair it when it breaks, and to help build a fence and provide security for the well. It needs to be understood as an asset to the community that they can used to continue to help improve and grow their community. Water from the wells is then collected and sent to Kampala for analysis to assure that it is safe to drink.

On Friday, we traveled to the outer villages where drilling is taking place and watched the crew fisnish u one project and start another well in the same community. Providing several access points in the same community assures that no one has to walk over 500 meters to obtain safe water. One water point only serves 300 to 350 people well.

Friday afternoon we visited with Michael and his family, including his parents from Austrailia, and left around 6 PM for the 6 hour trip back to Kampala. Tomorrow we travel on to Ethiopia.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:16:01 +0000

Today Steve Akin and I joined Beau Adbulla, who is the country director for Living Waters, Int. here in Kampala, for the trip to Bunyagira. We traveled about an hour and a half southwest of Kampala, then met up with Isaac Kaye and his sister Grace Nakaye Rita, left the road and traveled about 20 minutes up into the less populated areas, ultimately reaching Bunyagira. There we were introduced to some members of the water committee, including Pastor Cyrus, who is the chairman of the committee, and the local mayor of Bunyagira.

We discussed the organization of the committee as well as the other projects of the community. In addition to the new water well, the community is also involved in assisting local orphans through scholarships in the school, help with foster parents, and are attempting to build an orphanage.

We then walked down the hill to the current water supply, which is little more than a hole dug in a swamp at the bottom of a hill, about one-half mile from the village and three-fourths of a mile from the school. Walking back from the water source to the village or school is a very steep grade that the people have to walk up carrying one or two 5 gallon Jerry cans of water. Each can of water weighs 40 pounds, and frequently, children who weigh no more than 40 pounds themselves will be carrying a can up the hill. Isaac said that the water really needs to be boiled before it is consumed, but often people drink it without boiling it. Water related diseases, including typhoid fever, cholera, and other intestinal illnesses are still common in the village, and people are very ill and often die as a result of their illness. Another problem with not having readily available water means that people don’t bathe as often, and dishes and clothes don’t get cleaned as often. Water for making bricks for construction is also difficult to come by, thus slowing or preventing construction projects in the village.

We discussed the water point with the committee and how the village will need to take ownership in the sustainability of the water supply, including care of, repair of, and protection of their water source. We feel that Hope Springs Water will need to stay involved with the community and continue to offer support to the water committee in whatever way is appropriate for the forseeable future. The well itself was started a few days ago, but it was discovered that the soil was very soft, so a different drilling rig will need to be brought in next week to complete the well project. The village is very excited and supportive of the project and can’t wait to have a source of safe drinking water in the near future. This is seen as a definite positive event in the future of their village. Tomorrow we will travel six hours to the south to visit a current drilling site that Living Waters has in a different area.

Water Crisis

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 01:30:03 +0000


	*Child deaths within their first 5 years* U.S. and Europe: 2 out of 1000 Africa: 165 out of 1000 Sierra Leone: 282 out of 1000 (the worst infant mortality rate in the world) Malnutrition is responsible for about half of those deaths, and unsafe drinking water runs a close second as a cause for childhood death.It is estimated that as many as one-half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people with a water-related illness. *Water Usage* The average American family uses about 300 gallons of water a day. 300 Gallons = 2000 pounds = 1 ton = 50 trips to a water source 30 Gallons = 250 pounds = 5 trips to a water source = 10 hours of labor if source is 2 hours away The constant traveling and carrying water devastates the productivity of people in areas lacking access to water. *Walk for Water* Women and children in developing countries invest 200 million hours a day fetching water. That’s equal to a full-time work force of 25 million people fetching water for 8 hours a day , 7 days a week. These hours could be spent by the adults earning an income or making a contribution to the family. The children, who could spend these same hours in school are, instead, spending their time hauling water. Many children are also unable to attend school because they are chronically sick from their exposure to impure water. “We could have most of the modern conveniences taken away from us, including electricity, cars, computers, and education, and we could still survive and perhaps even thrive. However, if you take away water and proper sanitation, then our health and the health of our children is threatened. If we lose our health, then we lose our motivation and our ability to go out and be productive. If we are no longer productive, and can’t support our family, then we have no dignity and no hope-no hope for the future, for our children, or for a better life. This is the life faced by nearly one billion people who live in the world without access to pure drinking water.” “The Hole in Our Gospel:What does God Expect of Us?” – Richard Stearn *A Starfish Tale* A wonderful story has often been told that helps us to understand the extent of the world crisis of poverty, including the lack of access to pure drinking water. The story goes like this: Early one morning , after a terrible storm had pounded the coast all night, I went out to take a walk on the beach and to survey the aftermath of the storm. I was horrified to see tens of thousands of starfish scattered about on the beach that had been left stranded there as the storm surge passed by. I soon realized, and was saddened by the knowledge, that they would all soon die as the morning sun heated up the beach. As I stood there, upset that there was nothing that I could do about the impending disaster for the starfish, I looked up, and, there, off in the distance, I saw a man standing near the waters’ edge, and he seemed to be dancing. He would bend down, then stand and extend his arms over his head for a moment, then he would spin around in a circle, and then repeat the process. Curiosity got the better of me, so I strolled out toward him to see what was going on. As I drew nearer to him, I saw that he was an elderly gentleman who was bending down, lifting up a starfish, holding it up to examine it in the light, then gracefully spinning around and throwing the starfish as far out into the ocean as he could. Spellbound for a moment, I was finally able to get my voice working and I asked him what he was doing. He quickly responded with “saving starfish!” Incredulous, I said, “Have you lost your mind!? There are tens of thousands of starfish out here, the sun is coming up, and soon the mid-day heat will kill them all! You can’t possibly make a difference!” The old man just smiled a knowing smile, bent down and carefully picked up a starfish, lifted it into the air and admired its intricacies and innate beauty, then he spun around and heaved it far out into the ocean. Then he turned to me and simply said, “It made a difference to that one!” When we initially survey the overwhelming magnitude of the problem of nearly one billion people on earth without access to pure water, we might quickly come to the conclusion that we can’t possibly make a difference. If we find ourselves in that position, we need but to recall the attitude of the old man who was saving starfish. We might not be able to save them all, but we can certainly make a difference to some of them. Join our quest, drink Hope Springs Water, request it by name where you shop for bottled water, make a tax deductible donation to Hope Springs Water, and, together, we can truly bring hope to some of the world’s most hopeless people.

Purchase Hope Springs Water

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 07:58:27 +0000

We Hope you decide to drink Hope Springs Water and help us bring some hope into the lives of thousands of people around the world who currently feel as though the world has forgotten them-or worse, that the world just doesn’t care about them. It is our belief that the majority of Americans are good people who do care and will do what they can to help, if given the opportunity. If you are going to drink bottled water, your opportunity to help could be by drinking Hope Springs Water.

If, however, you wish to help in a more direct way, you may contribute directly to the Hope Springs Water global initiative and contributing to the provision of pure water, of opportunity and Hope, for those who have been less fortunate than you. From those of us at Hope Springs Water, we thank you.

-or-

Mail your donation to:

Hope Springs Water

P.O. Box 1567

Athens, Texas 75751

To inquire about orders of Hope Springs Water contact:

C. Ted Mettetal, M.D.

Executive Director, Hope Springs, Inc.

Athens, Texas 75751

hopespringswater@yahoo.com

Hope Springs Water is currently available for purchase at

Anderson Family Drug – Athens, TX
Gibson Drug – Athens,TX
Athens Thrift Store – Athens, TX
The Montalba General Store
New York Texas Zipline

More Locations coming soon!

Making an Impact

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:50:16 +0000

The Seeds Of Hope Project

The Seeds Of Hope Project, which was undertaken in conjunction with Palmer Ministries located in Mesquite, Texas and Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, is for the benefit of the Miskito Indians living along the Miskito Coast in eastern Nicaragua.

The Miskito people are a traditional Amerindian African mestizo people who live as subsistence farmers and fisherman in small villages of the lowland rain forest of Nicaragua and Honduras. The Miskito live in close family units in small autonomous villages. Families plant common field crops of rice, beans, and yucca, and they gather native grown bananas and plantains. Due to economic hardships, many Miskito children stay home and work rather than attend school, and health care is limited or non-existent in most villages. Over one third of Miskito children are considered chronically malnourished and infant mortality is one of the highest in central America, while life expectancy is one of the lowest. The number one cause of infant death is intestinal parasites due to impure drinking water.

Santa Rosa is a small rural village of about 45 Miskito families that had no source of pure drinking water. There families there had drawn their drinking and cooking water from a sm

all stream that runs through the village. It is the same stream that women wash clothes in and in which animals and children play.

The wells were dug by hand with pick and shovel, and once the water table was reached, concrete casings were stacked into the well, one on top of the other. The casings are cast in molds on site by the villagers. As the casings were added, dirt was filled in around them. The top 15 casings were sealed in concrete to prevent any ground water from seeping into the well. The top of the well was sealed and a base poured around the top casing to seal the well from outside contaminants. A hand pump was the final touch to the well, which now allows the 45 families in Santa Rosa to have a constant supply of pure water. The well was funded through Hope Springs Water by a gift from the Student Senate of Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. Two other wells have been similarly funded and details of these wells will be reported once final results are known.

A Mother’s Choice

Sbutu, a 19 year old mother of two (Mgame and Tempte) in Bantu,Ethiopia , spends most of her day walking back and forth to a water source to obtain water for her family. She makes the trip, a 30 minute walk each way, carrying 5 gallons of water on each trip. She manages to squeeze in 5 to 6 trips daily, accounting for 5 to 6 hours of her day-every day-in order to provide 25 to 30 gallons of water for her family daily. The average American uses 350 gallons of water every day. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 200 million man-hours of labor are wasted everyday by people walking back and forth to a water source to obtain water for their survival. Often the water sources that mothers like Sbutu visit contain contaminated water, and they have to make a terrible choice. They must choose whether to watch their children die of thirst, or they must give their children tainted water, and risk watching them die of a water borne illness. The question we must ask ourselves is this, “What kind of a choice is that for a parent to have to make?” Yet, millions of parents do just that, every day. Hope Springs Water intends to positively impact that fact. With your help, by drinking Hope Springs Water when you drink bottled water, we can, indeed, collectively make a difference for these parents.

Drink Hope Springs Water, and participate along with us in Bringing Hope to the World, One Bottle of Water at a Time