August 2024

There have been a few noteworthy developments since I last wrote in June.  Recall in early June we shipped over a ton of hardware to Zambia needed to build 120 sandpoint wells and pumps. Presently the crate and pallet are in the Port of Durban South Africa and await loading onto a truck to complete the last leg of the journey to Zambia. 

When I initiated this shipment I was still hoping to receive the duty free import exemption by the Republic of Zambia.  Prof Imasiku Nyambe and I have petitioned the Ministry of Finance for over a year, completing one complex form after another. It became a matter of principle. Every last piece of material that we ship is for charitable distribution and was purchased, discounted or donated by many of you! Every dollar saved at Customs is a dollar applied to helping the people we serve.  In July the Prof and I drafted a letter to the Minister of Finance making this case. I am happy to report that as of 9 August 2024, Project Sheluka has been granted duty free import status!

Thank you Honorable Mr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance , Republic of Zambia!

What else...

Our foreman, John Simasiku, was a guest of the Nyambe house in Lusaka for three weeks in July.  John worked with two machine shops and a steel vendor to sort out the hardware and fabrication of the pump bodies. John did a great job in securing quotes from the vendor and a local machinist. To give you an idea of cost, the fabrication is about $45 and the steel about $36. It will take a few installation trips before I can calculate the actual cost per well.

John took the pumps back to our workshop in Mongu where we had enough material in the workshop for one new sandpoint well.  John took one of the new pumps and sandpoint hardware to Kalenge Village Sunday August 11.  The wells I installed during the proof of concept in November 2019 had all fallen into disrepair from the original, long since broken, cast iron pumps. A new sandpoint was installed in an existing hand dug well (depth to water was a little over eight feet, the depth to the top of the sandpoint is 16.5 feet), and in less than two hours the new Zambian-built pump was operational.

This week we will purchase the steel and have it delivered to the machine shop, who claims they can produce 120 pump bodies in 28 days. This might be wishful thinking as the electricity is switched off for 12 hours per day due to the prolonged drought (Zambia is largely electrified by hydropower). 

The next three months will be very busy as we finally push into the Matebele and Mulonga Plains.  I will keep you posted.

Joe

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