The "Chinese Wells": Nourishing Mountain Communities with the Water of Life

Mbujimayi, the capital of Eastern Kasai Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, means "severe water shortage." This is a mountainous area and the residents are suffering from shortage of water.

In 2019, WIETC came to Eastern Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and began to implement the Kasai Water Supply Project. The project involved drilling wells, building water towers and laying water supply pipelines for 18 surrounding mountainous towns.

Lukalaba Water Tower, hope for a happy life

Many difficulties were encountered during the implementation of the project. The location of the project is in a tropical grassland climate, characterized by extended periods of drought for most of the year, with intermittent heavy rainfall. These climatic conditions posed significant obstacles to construction. The roads to the 18 towns were mostly unpaved and sandy, making them rugged and difficult to traverse. Moreover, due to frequent rain-induced erosion and years of neglect, the road surfaces were riddled with potholes, often causing significant delays in transporting construction equipment and materials to the work sites. Each of the towns lacked access to construction-grade water, requiring water to be fetched from rivers several kilometers or even more away to meet construction needs. Additionally, none of the construction sites had municipal power supply connections, relying solely on self-generated electricity from portable generators. The local geological conditions were exceptionally complex and unique, characterized by the Cambrian geological layer with very limited underground water storage capacity, posing substantial challenges for drilling and water extraction.

Under unimaginable difficult conditions, WIETC staff exemplified the spirit of "going all out". Through painstaking and unremitting efforts, they successfully drilled 19 Wells. These wells are called "Chinese Wells" by local residents. Since then, local residents can get water at their doorsteps every day. The residents no longer need to get up before dawn and walk several kilometers or even ten kilometers to the river to get water, thus to free up more time to study or do work. Moreover, after undergoing disinfection, well water is cleaner and healthier than river water, which greatly improves the health of local residents.

Connecting to the water of happiness

During the implementation of the project, a large number of local employees were recruited and trained. Many local young people had employment opportunities. This project brought more welfare to the local society. Ahonod, 30 years old, is a water engineer. He said that since entering the company, he not only has had a stable income, but also learned a lot of professional knowledge. When he joined the company, he was single, and now his child is nearly 2 years old, and he leads a happy life. He hopes to follow the company to work on other projects after completing this one.

Local residents celebrating the start of water supply pipeline operation

It was summer again in Kasai, and the sun was shining and warming the people on the earth. The children came out into the field and played football happily. When they get thirsty, they go to the water collection point for a drink. Look, how happy they are!