Monday, June 20

An email note from Dr. Dan indicates that the water test was negative for E. Coli. They are still pumping water to flush the chlorine from the well water. This is probably useful for further sanitizing the water tank as well. Once there is no chlorine odor to the water, it should be fine and they can open the valve to supply water from the new well to the 5-in-1's.

Larry spoke with Glen at church yesterday. Glen is confident that the new well really is 80 meters deep because of the drilling logs he has from Monzi Drilling. He said he paid extra to have them drill to the greater depth so there would be less risk of contamination given the proximity of the well to the septic system.

The re-calculated capacity of the well based on an 80 meter depth is as follows:

3. Well #3: Static depth to reach water = 54 feet

Pumping water level = 93 feet

Bottom of the well = 70 meters

Calculated well flow capacity = 35 Gallons per minute

Pump motor = 2.0 horsepower

Time required to fill 10,000 liter tank = 1.3 hours

Specific capacity = 0.897 gallons per foot

Production of the well = 140 gallons per minute

Glen was a bit troubled that the pump would shut itself off after 8 minutes of pumping and our suspicion (based on the World Hope reps. comments) that the pump might be located higher up in the water column than one would expect.

Tuesday, June 14:

We’re still recovering from the jet lag. Larry did some internet searching for information on disinfecting wells contaminated with bacteria. He found a very helpful guide from the University of Georgia Extension Service. He concluded that much of what we did to try to clean up the well water was just what we should have done. From the guide and the measurements Jon and he had taken, he was able to calculate the like amount of water in the well and the amount of chlorine that should have been used to disinfect it. It appeared that we probably used much more chlorine as should have been necessary. So our sense of optimism that the well water may actually be useable has gone up. BUT, he did send off a quick note to Dr. Dan to alert him that we had significantly over-shocked the well and that they should be sure to flush the water from the well, the pipes and the storage tank until they no longer smell chlorine before connecting the water tank to the 5-in-1's.

No word yet as to whether or not the well water is negative/positive for E. Coli.

Sunday, June 12:

We arrived in London around 8 am. We had another 4 hour layover before our flight to Chicago (7-8 hrs). We mostly milled around in the waiting area and eating snacks. The flight to Chicago was pretty uneventful as well, although we did fly over parts of Greenland and then followed a southerly track almost directly over Sault Ste. Marie and then the western side of the lower peninsula by Holland on our way to Chicago O’Hare Airport.

At O’Hare, we all deplaned and went to recover our luggage. All but two of the bags arrived and these were not any of the bags that required special handling. Kari B. and Tehanne were each missing a bag and had to file claims with the airline baggage office. We all made it through immigration and customs without any problems. Lindsay couldn’t find the claim check for the car she had driven to O’Hare and parked in long term parking. There was some confusion trying to get drivers to pick up the cars while some were still filing baggage claims and others were confused or off going to the restroom. Eventually, we all just got on the shuttle with all our bags and went to retrieve our vehicles. This too went reasonably well despite the missing claim check.

When we left the airport for home, two of the drivers inadvertently got on the ramp for I-294 going north instead of south which led them straight into the heart of Sunday afternoon traffic headed into downtown Chicago. Since that seemed like a really awful idea, they eventual found their way back to where they could get on I-294 South. That little loop cost almost an extra hour of driving to get home. The rest of the trip home was pretty uneventful. We arrive home shortly after 9 pm with a few family and friends awaiting our arrival.

Saturday, June 11:

We finished all the last minute packing and ate breakfast. When the driver (Collins) arrive, we l load all the bags (15) on top of the Landcruiser and tied them all down securely. We said goodby to Dr. Dan and drove to Livingstone. The first stop was to be Victoria Falls. Only three of us had been there before. Everyone was impressed. We got great photos of the falls with rainbows arcing across the mist. We also got pretty wet walking along the trail and bridge on the ridge in front of the falls. When we returned to the parking lot and members of the team wandered among the vendors trying to buy, barter, and sell items, Jon was briefly accosted by a baboon that mistook one of his purchases for a bag of food.. A number of locals sprang forward to chase off the baboon before any harm was done, but most of us – and especially Jon – were a bit stunned by the baboon’s aggressiveness.

From the falls, we went on to the airport. We said goodbye to Dr. Joan and readied to board the flight to Johannesburg (1.5 hours). British Air agreed to waive the extra bag fees since we were on a mission trip. However, they did not feel they could waive the fees for Virgin Atlantic so the said those of us with extra bags would have to reclaim our bags in Jo’burg and then re-check them at the Virgin Atlantic desk. This turned out to be just as much of a hassle and confusing as you might guess, but we eventually got it all straightened out with Virgin Atlantic agreeing to waive the extra bag fees again. And we did this just in time to realize that Dr. Kari and Larry had left their camera on the airplane from Livingstone. They contacted British Air representatives but were told the plane had already been serviced and flown off but that no one had turned in the missing camera. That was a clearly disappointing and depressing turn of events.

We eventually boarded our plane for London where we would have another 4-5 hour layover. The flight to London took just over 11 hours. Most of us got only 1-2 hours of sleep on the flight.

Friday, June 10:

This is our last full day in Zimba. An important part of the day is making sure all who need to know are aware of what we did, where we left off, and what still needs to happen. This is particularly true regarding the water project.

The chapel service felt a bit odd because some of the administrators were not present. Before everyone left at the end of the service, Larry made a few remarks to let them know we would leaving tomorrow and to thank them for let us visit to help and for the wonderful experience of being in Zimba with them. He also tried make sure they knew why we come.

After service, Jon, Bob and Larry went to dump chlorine in well 3. Dr. Joan had purchased five boxes of 12 pints of chlorine for the well. Since we didn’t know how much would be needed and hadn’t been able to find information, we decided to use it all. Bob and Jon poured the chlorine down the well, occasionally starting up the pump briefly to mix the chlorine and the water in the well. Larry went to find Mrs. Narienda and George to explain the water sampling and test to them both. He explained that we wanted the chlorine to sit in the well for at least 24 hours, but that it might be best to wait and do the next water test Monday. By then, we thought the chlorine should have killed the E. Coli but if the septic system was continuously contaminating the water then it would have a chance to re-contaminate it by the time they tested. We really hoped this isn’t the case. We asked them to let us know the results either way.

Dr. Kari asked Jon and Larry to try to fix (again) the base of the colposcope. The base that has a swivel support for the post on which the scope itself is held had gotten a chip broken out of it during shipping to Zambia. Elisha or George had tried fixing it when we arrived by gluing the chip back into place, but the glue wasn’t holding and the base wasn’t tight enough on the post to prevent the post and scope from falling over and possibly getting damaged. Jon and Larry were able to McGyver a rubber collar around the post where it joins the base so that it can still be moved/swiveled some, but where the rubber pushes the post back upwards so it cannot fall over. It seemed to work pretty well.

The Jon (mostly) and Larry repaired the drain pipe of the scrub sink in the OR. It had gotten bumped Thursday evening taking a patient to recovery and the connection was broken. Jon managed to cobble together some more or less workable pipes and valves as junctions to get the drain connected and working again. More satisfied customers.

Later, Jon and Bob went over to the storage tank to tighten the pipe from the new storage tank. They were able to straighten it a bit so it wouldn’t leak, but they did not reconnect the pipe where it had been opened to drain it. This would enable someone else to drain the chlorinated water from the well and storage tank before it gets directed to the 5-in-1's when the well is disinfected.

Larry and Jon discussed with Dennis how we thought the tanks could be lowered without too much danger but would require an extension ladder and ropes so the block and tackle could be attached to the new tower in front with the rope connected to a bar inserted into the lid of the storage tank to be taken down. Another rope would need to be attached to the base of the tank to pull back on it as the rope attached to the top and the block and tackle are tightened to tip the tank over and off the tower. The rope around the bottom would be used to ease the base of the tank off the tower so it didn’t crash into the other tower and get ruptured. It seemed like a reasonable plan. Jon and Bob had bought rope for the block and tackle the hospital already had.

Larry spent much of the afternoon writing up notes. He gave the rest of the Crown Ministry materials and one of the two portable computers we brought to Pastor Chikobela.

He also gave copies of water test photos to Dr. Dan. Since the hospital administrator had not been around for chapel, Larry gave reports on the status of the well and water lines to Dennis, Dr. Joan, Dr. Dan, and Mrs. Narienda.

The whole team spent the remainder of the evening packing up for an early departure Saturday morning.

Thursday, June 9:

After chapel, we checked on the status of the enclosure. It was hardening nicely. Timothy told us we needed to remove about 2" of gravel and clay from the floor of the enclosure so it would be easier to service the valves and junction if necessary. So we did that using a mason’s trowel and a bucket. The space to work in inside the enclosure was pretty tight but we managed. We used the opportunity then to fill the dirt back into the holes and trenches we had dug to locate the various water lines.

About the time we finished that task, it was time to go retrieve additional water samples we’d put into the incubators on Wednesday. We’d drawn a sample from the mission house kitchen sink, a sample from the well 1 borehole in front of the hospital, and another sample from the well 3 borehole. All were yellow indicating the presence of coliforms but only the sample from the well 3 borehole fluoresced indicating the presence of E. Coli. That was far short of the news we were hoping for. Now we had successfully connected the new water tower to the supply line taking water to the staff living quarters, the 5-in-1 units – a connection they have been waiting on for months and months – only to discover that the well the water tank is supplied by is contaminated with E. Coli. Our guess is that the new well was dug much too near the existing septic tanks/soak-aways behind the lab, radiology, and operating theater.

Dr. Joan had gone to Choma about 100 km north on other business. After discussing this with Dr. Dan, Jon spoke with Dr. Joan about purchasing chlorine to pour into the well to see if we could freshen it. Dr. Joan was able to buy 60 pint bottles of chlorine and to bring them back with her in the evening. Is it enough?

Jon and Larry went to the city’s water treatment facility and spoke with the technician on duty. We wanted to know what the drinking water standards were generally and what to do about E. Coli in particular. The technician said the Zambian standards are very similar to or identical with the W.H.O. standards. He indicated that 0 E. Coli was the acceptable standard. He thought we could add a chlorine filter or feeder that continuously adds a little chlorine to the water to keep it free of E. Coli but that if that didn’t work, we may have to abandon the well. He gave the contact information of the offices of his company in Choma or Kaloma to find out where the bulk chlorine might be purchased and the unit in the company that could do a broad spectrum test of the water for pH, minerals, chemicals, and bacteria. For everything, except the E. Coli test which requires incubating the samples, the tests have to be conducted within an hour of drawing the samples. It will almost certainly be necessary for their team to visit Zimba to conduct the tests.

Larry went back to the mission house to write up notes on the activities of the visit and prepare for our dinner guests for the evening. After lunch, Jon and Bob went back to try drain the new water storage tank. To do this they had to disconnect the down pipe about 10' off the ground. They had quite a bit of difficulty with this but separated it enough to let the water spray out. They also hauled wheelbarrow loads of sand and stone for Timothy to use to make the lid for the protective box around the T-junction.

In the evening, we had seven guests for dinner including two children of two of the male hospital workers. Each of team had been allowed to invite someone they’d been working with to come for dinner and conversation. Bob, Jon, and Larry invited Dennis and Elisha. RJ invited the teacher he had been helping all week. Dr. Kari and Barbara invited Anna who translated for them and whom we’ve known from previous trips. Lori and nurse Kari invited Ventor who is the main person in the pharmacy where they had helped a great deal. Barbara had cooked a vegetable beef stew or soup and a bread pudding. Both were delicious and the Zambians – although suspicious of the bread pudding initially, gobbled up everything just like the rest of us. Everyone had a very nice relaxing evening.

Wednesday, June 8:

On Monday when we were pumping water into the storage tank, the pump would shut off after pumping for only about 8 minutes. This had been very puzzling. If there was as much water in the well as the measurements and the information Dennis gave us indicated, the pump should have kept pumping without a problem. Late Monday, Jon had turned on the pump but partially closed the valve at the well head so that much less that the full volume of water the pump was capable of pumping was actually being pumped out of the well. This enabled the pump to keep pumping without stopping. It also suggested that there may be less water in the well than we had originally estimated.

On Tuesday, Jon had turned on the pump with the valve only partly opened and let it keep pumping in order to fill the tank completely. About 1:30 in the morning, one of the security guards had contacted Elisha to let him know that the water tank was over-filling (Elisha and Jon had disabled the automatic shutoff). Elisha had gone over during the night and turned the pump off.

When we arrived in the morning, we were ready to test fully the T-junction to see if the last effort yesterday had been successful. Visually, everything looked good – no obvious leaks anywhere, everything still intact. As Jon began to open the valve, he was very surprised to find out that it was already open. Larry hurried over to the water tower to see if we had closed one of the two valves there instead but they were both wide open also. None of us, including Dennis and Elisha, had any idea who might have opened the valve after we left it yesterday afternoon. This was disturbing since we still didn’t know if the water in the storage tank was free of E. Coli. The very positive news that the final attempt to connect the lines to the T-junction had been completely successful with no leaks was greatly overshadowed by a new mystery and concern about the potentially bad water getting to people’s homes.

With the connection accomplished, the next task was to build a brick enclosure surrounding the junction so that it could be protected but still permit access for servicing. We had looked at other similar enclosures on the hospital grounds so we knew about what needed to be done. As we began gathering bricks and stone cement the brick enclosure, the man in charge of the construction of the Outpatient Building, Timothy, advised on what was wrong with our plan and how it should be done given the particular types of bricks available to us. He said he could build the enclosure fairly quickly. After discussing it among ourselves and having Dennis discuss with him how much it would cost to have him do it, we decided the only reasonable thing to do was pay Timothy to build the enclosure. Timothy agreed to do it for 50,000 Kwacha (i.e., about $11). It seemed like a deal too good to turn down.

While Timothy worked on the enclosure, we cut rebar as reinforcement for a concrete lid for the enclosure Timothy would also build. Then we went back to the mission house to meet with a team from World Hope that had arrived at the request of Drs. Dan and Joan to explore re-opening an old bore hole at the back of the mission compound property. The tests the World Hope folks conducted indicated there wasn’t enough water in the well to be worthwhile and the casing was too small for their drill bit to fit inside so a whole new well would have to be drilled. Jon and the others were amazed at the techniques they used to find prospective sources of water where a new well could be dug. They tried two different techniques: one was much like diving rods but these were two L-shape coat-hanger like wires held in separate hands that cross each other near a water source, the other was a water-filled coke bottle held on the open palm of your hand while walking around the property. The coke bottle begins to lean and spill over at the site of a water source. While most of us were fascinated but incredulous, these guys said they have used these methods to choose successfully the drilling sites for hundreds of wells.

The World Hope technicians told us that virtually all wells in Zambia are no more than 50 meters deep (instead of the 70 or 80 meters Dennis had told us). The also said the pumps are usually situated about 3 meters below the static water level in the well. If this applied to the three wells at the hospital, it would explain why the pump in well 3 was shutting off so quickly. It would also alter some of our calculations of the wells’ capacities appreciably downward. Based on this alternative information, Jon re-calculated the capacities as follows:

Well # 12-13 gallons per minute

Well # 2: 16-17 gallons per minute

Well # 3: 90 gallons per minute (but with some questions about this because the probe would get caught up on the pump making the true depth suspect).

These are still adequate but much less robust than our preliminary calculations and provide even greater reason for wanting well 3 to be useful so the pressure on well 1 can be relieved.

Later we helped Million repair the metal door at the rear of the maintenance enclosure at the hospital. We also discussed how it might be possible to take the old water storage tanks down from their towers for use elsewhere. Dr. Dan hoped one could be used at the mission house and the other at the new water tower at the back of the property. Without a crane, a good solution wasn’t obvious. It looked like another McGyver moment.