Summer Projects

Summer in Sudan means summer interns. We are excited to welcome four interns to our team this year, two of whom are engineers. They will be a big part of the work we do as a team, and as we plan for the summer there are two funding needs that I want to share with all of you. I am praying that God will provide the funding for these projects in time for the summer interns to be involved in the construction, installation, and training related to both of these projects.

*long line at a hand pump in Mundri*

The first is the Sudan Water Fund. We have the funds to start a project which will turn a high yield borehole that currently has a hand pump installed into a solar powered network of taps. This will increase the water supply in Mundri town without having to drill new boreholes. It will allow one borehole to provide the water that 3-5 boreholes would supply to the community. It also has the added benefit of not requiring women and children to have to pump the water by hand since the pump is powered by solar panels.

Procurement of supplies is one of the largest chanllenges in Southern Sudan for a project like this one. We are planning to buy supplies while we are in Kampala in April, but we do not have the funds to buy everything needed for the whole project so we are currently planning on a smaller scale version of the project that can be expanded when we have more funds.

I am praying that in the next week, God would provide additional funds so that we can buy more supplies on this trip to Kampala to be able to complete the full version of the project while the engineering interns are in Sudan.

Give online at http://www.whm.org/project/details?ID=19202 or contact me by email at ChristineOlmeda@gmail.com to give by mail.

*Thomas, the headmaster, in front of the computers in unopened boxes*

The second project is the completion of a computer lab for Mundri Secondary School. Since you are reading my blog, you probably have access to a computer and probably own your own computer. It is probably high on the list of the requirements you would have when considering a school. At present there at 10 computers sitting in boxes at Mundri Secondary School and a generator sitting idle in the teachers' office. The computers were donated to the school, but the school does not have the funds to complete the wiring and build a secure room to house the generator. The cost of finishing the work to provide a functioning computer lab is about $2,000 US Dollars, which is not too much more than the cost of buying a decent computer in America.

*Hanging out with some of the teachers from the school*

Over the last year as I have been teaching Physcis at Mundri Secondary Schoool, I have become friends with the students and teachers. I have seen the teachers work to share their needs with the government and NGOs, and I have seen the community come together to collect some money for this project. Please join me in praying for the funds to complete this computer lab when the summer interns are in Mundri. The interns will be also be serving by teaching Physics at Mundri Secondary School and helping with a club for the students on Saturdays where we will share the gospel, teach critical thinking skills, and practice English.

You can give to the Mundri Secondary School computer lab project at http://www.whm.org/enter-a-desig by entering 11926 as the designation number, or contact me at ChristineOlmeda@gmail.com to give by mail.

*A tree planted before the war at Mundri Secondary School
The tree still stands but most of the buildings were destroyed*

Please also check out Bethany's blog to read about the need for latrines at Mundri Secondary School! I take it toilets would also be a requirement for any school you were considering.

http://bethanygrace.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/things-we-take-for-granted-toilets/