Every aspect of this Project relies on contributions of our supporters. Sometimes this support is lending a hand, or truck, to the effort. On June 3 my brother John loaded a pallet and a crate on our friend Gary Strange’s trailer. There is about 2,500 pounds of hardware in these parcels — enough material to support the installation of 110 wells.

If you want to track the progress of the freight shipment, use this link:

https://www.shipco.com/track-search

Once you are at the Shipco website select

Shipment Type “OCEAN SHIPMENT”

Search by “BOOKING NUMBER”

Reference: Enter this number 10837031

This will take you the the current status of the shipment. On the right side of the status you will find the Vessel/Voyage with a link to the ship and a map of the whereabouts of the ship. At the time of this posting (June 17) our parcels are in New York and the ship is halfway across the Atlantic Ocean heading to New York. Stay tuned!

I had to complete a few documents to accompany shipment. Just to give you an idea of what is within these parcels, here’s a condensed list:

• 147 Sandpoints

• 300 Drive Couplings

• 224 Drive Caps

• 116 Check Valves

• 172 Plungers

• 116 Slip-joint Pliers

• 1 Rigid Pipe Tristand (6”)

• 800 Polymer Bearings

• 767 Leather Cup Seals

• Assorted Hand Tools

• Hardware (clevis and cotter pins, washers, jamb nuts)

So. What is next?

During the first week of July our foreman John Simasiku will travel from Mongu to Lusaka and oversee the manufacture of a pump body at a machine shop. This is necessary to avoid any miscommunication (we have experienced a few) in pump fabrication. John will return to Kalenge Village with this pump while the machine shop prepares 120 additional pumps (good to have a couple spare pumps).

I expect the freight to arrive in Lusaka by the end of August. I plan to return to Zambia in September. I will collect the freight, pumps, additional steel pipe and take a load to Mongu and begin the installation phase. I will need to secure a 4x4 in Mongu to access the remote villages. John will begin the circuit installing sandpoints in the 80 villages we identified in 2022. Each village will provide an assistant who will help John install the sandpoint and will be trained in pump function and repair. Each assistant will be given a maintenance kit of pliers, leather seals and polymer bearings. John will return a year later with new maintenance supplies and materials to fix any broken parts.

Thanks for your support!

Joe