Tuesday was supposed to be a trip to Ilorin with Abby, her parents, and sister – they were to catch a flight to Abuja and then connect with their flight back to the US. Abby’s dad Jim, though, had not been feeling well for days (malaria) and the trip ended up being postponed. During the morning I graded some papers, checked email (attempted), and checked back in often to see if we might make the trip to Ilorin. Many of our supplies will come from Ilorin, so it would be a good idea to take a look at what is available. By 11:30am the trip had been canceled, so I began looking around for something to do. Jason was attempting to take down a dead tree but was having some issues with the chainsaw. He had managed to cut off several big branches, so I stacked the wood against a nearby tree.
After lunch, we looked over the water tanks that feed the compound. Basically, they have two really large concrete tanks up the hill a bit that are filled by bore holes. These tanks then feed compound. So, each house does not have its own tank like I’ve seen in Jos. We then went out to see the three reservoirs. The first was built for the compound by SIM. There is a pumping station there that is supposed to also fill the two big concrete tanks I previously mentioned – the reservoir is about 2 kilometers away. Something is either wrong with the pump or with the pipes that feed the tanks. The second reservoir is a backup to feed the first and was a joint project with community since the third reservoir is for the city of Egbe. The second also could feed the third. It’s a very nice setup. Over the years, though, equipment has deteriorated and now these three reservoirs are just sitting there inaccessible. At one time it was easy to drive to the reservoirs, but the area is now covered with tall grass. We had difficulty located the pumping house for the second reservoir. The hope is to get the pump for reservoir one working. Water should not be a problem here but for now it is.
We returned to the hospital complex around 3pm and all went back to work. I worked with Gregg (SIM Canada Director) and Stephen Bryce (son) for the remainder of the afternoon in Dr. Shaibo’s house that is being remodeled. We tore out portions of old shelving used for dressers and closets. It was pretty dusty and dirty work, but I’m much better at destroying than building cabinets!
Dinner was at 6:15, followed by time in the computer lab posting grades for Liberty, and chatting with Maureen.
McAlhaneys on Mission 