But wells need digging!

[TygrBright]

A friend of mine (I'll call her Ann) has a brother-in-law (I'll call him Terry.) Terry is married to Ann's sister Kelly, and they have an adopted son John, who is almost twelve.

Terry wants to dig a well in Sudan.

Ann, Kelly and I all agree wholeheartedly with Terry that Sudan desperately needs more wells, that the people in Sudan are in deep and terrible distress, that it would be an excellent thing if another well could be dug.

Kelly, Ann and I also agree wholeheartedly with Terry that relieving the misery of the poor and distressed is a fine manifestation of a fervently-held and diligently practiced Christian faith.

Here is where I (and Kelly and Ann) differ with Terry:

You see, we believe that for the price of round-trip travel to Sudan, Terry could donate to a charity that is already doing relief work in Sudan and have many wells dug. By people who are expert at digging and drilling in local conditions. And who understand the local dangers, and perhaps some of the political complexities. And thus, would be likely to dig the wells where they might do the most good and last the longest and minimize unintended negative consequences and complications.

But Terry wants to dig a well himself. With a shovel. On the ground. In Sudan.

Did I mention that Terry turned fifty a year or two ago? That he has a graphic design and photography business, a mortgage, a family and household of which his labor, effort, and care are an integral part?

But Terry thinks it will make all the difference if he, himself, goes there and picks up a shovel and digs.

By the way, he's never been to Africa. He speaks a smattering of European languages, but no Arabic and certainly none of the languages of the southern part of the country.

But wells do need digging.

And I agree wells need digging. But I think that to get the best well-digging results, it's better that experienced well-diggers in Sudan get real, meaningful, behind-the-scenes support, rather than photo ops with Americans with shovels.

I'm willing to admit I could be wrong. Maybe if Terry went to Sudan with his shovel (presuming the TSA let him take it...) someone from National Geographic or the BBC with a video camera would make a feature about it and set off an outpouring of support and participation from around the world that would make a much greater impact on Sudanese well-drilling projects.

It could happen.

But I still think Terry should stay home and work from there, doing what he knows, and providing support from behind the scenes to dig wells in Sudan.

Because wells DO need digging.

thoughtfully,
Bright

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. I hand-dug a grave once.... and it was f***ing terrible

My hole was only about 3-4 ft deep... I couldn't imagine having to dig a well with a shovel.

Maybe just have him pay someone with a well bore machine and then pay for the well casing.
Work Smart, not hard.

[redwitch]

2. I agree with you Bright.

If he needs to work with his own hands he can go to New Orleans. People still need help there. And he would be lots safer. Sudan doesn't seem like a good place for the novice.

[russspeakeasy]

16. Good point.

[SharonAnn]

17. It would be good to hire locals to most of the work, if not all of it. Jobs are needed there.

Sometimes when we go into other countries, we just displace local labor and leave them with no "ownership" in what we've done. Worse, we sometimes leave their economy worse off.

For example, helping people put together a well-drilling type of organization, paying local laborers and perhaps helping them build capital and a business model, would help them now and over the long run. It could be a real start to building a sustainable economy.

It's kind of like giving free wheat or rice to a desperate country. WE drive the local growers out of business, they lose their land, and the country is worse off. We're able to do better by helping the locals build the economy so that they can be self-sustaining.

And, when we have government subsidized agricultural exports like corn to Mexico and rice to Haiti, we drive the small farmers off their land and into unemployment. It's a real disaster when we've made the country worse off than it was before. We really need to look at what we're trying to accomplish, a feel good for ourselves or true help for others.

I was originally suspicious about Larry O'Donnel's drive on MSNBC to supply school desks for children in Malawi until I learned that they are hiring local people, using local materials, and building something that is of benefit to their population. Many times, people need jobs as much as or even more than gifts.

However, if he were to go with a purpose in understanding their needs and finding out who he could work with in fund-raising for continued efforts and local employment, it could give him an understanding of how he can really help over the long term.

[Kali]

3. he can come here and practice first.

some people benefit from first hand experience, so while I agree donating the ticket money would probably give the biggest aid bang for his bucks, I can completely understand the desire to do it your self. He might think about the Peace Corps - yes they are still around.

Now if he wants some home country practice, I have a 25 foot hand dug well that is cased in concrete (about 6 x 6 foot square) down to about the 20 foot level. Below that it has collapsed and needs cleaning out, deepening, and perhaps more casing poured or a tile or culvert set in place.

If that doesn't work we need a new one dug. Nobody has much knowledge of how to do shallow wells in this country anymore. He can come learn here.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. If he feels he needs to go, he should go.

It's not about the well.

[freedom fighter jh]

12. Agree

It's about Terry doing what feels right to him.

I can look at things other people do and tell them how they could better spend their time or how they could accomplish the same thing better.

But unless they ask or at least seem to want to hear what I have to say, they're right to ignore me.

Because it's their life.

This case is more complicated, because of Terry's obligations to his family. But that too is not about the well.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. I think this thread is relevant

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x514012

People must balance their obligations to their families with their obligation to themselves.

I'm nearly Terry's age, and I can feel the rubber band effect of doing the former at the expense of the latter. An overstretched rubber band either fails or snaps back. Snapping back is probably better.

[csziggy]

5. Tell him to Google "Sudan water wells"

Top two right now:
http://www.waterforsudan.org/
Water for Sudan has fund raising materials on their web site. They say "ORGANIZE A FUND-RAISER - Ordinary people…all ages, all genders, races, faith-inspired or inspired non-believers…can do extraordinary things. All it takes is a little time, imagination and a commitment to have fun doing good. See what others have done. Choose among the Fundraising Kits and Materials for helpful tools you can use to get started. Contact us to order a DVD to show at group gatherings." Tell him to start here: http://www.waterforsudan.org/take-action/

http://thewaterproject.org/wells_for_sudan.asp
This one says "With your help, we will fund fresh-water wells to be placed at schools for about $4,000 each. Or, for as little at $2,500 a well can be placed at a church (subsidized by WHI partners)." Read more: http://thewaterproject.org/wells_for_sudan.asp#ixzz1F2daTUiS
So for the price of his personal trip to Sudan, he could pay for a water well to be put in by people who know what they are doing and by an organization that will be onsite for years to come to support the maintenance of that well. He can start here: http://thewaterproject.org/getinvolved.php


There are plenty of organizations already doing that work that would happily accept his donations - if he wants to be hands on, maybe there are projects they need his talents to assist in here in this country. They need people to put together fund raisers - his graphics talents would be good for that. He can make a much more valuable contribution here than traveling to Sudan.

If he insists on a hands on experience helping people who need help, have him talk to his minister. Many Christian denominations have programs for donating labor for groups like Habitat for Humanity. On one forum, maybe here on DU, a member posted pictures of their trip with a church group to Mexico to build houses in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. The church group supplied the buses and organized the travel while Habitat for Humanity set up the locations, tools and plans for the houses.

[starroute]

6. It sounds very midlife crisis -- so practical advice may not help

It's that feeling of "before I get too old, I want to do something with my life that will really make a difference." And if that's his problem, then suggesting he donate the price of his airplane ticket to a worthy organization isn't going to scratch his itch.

What might help is finding ways to make a difference here -- but even that has to be introduced in a way that will have immediacy.

The problem, I think, is that the Sudan has taken on a mythic stature as the epicenter of human suffering, especially for people who get their information from religious sources. And at the same time, the extent of poverty and suffering here is well covered over by the mainstream media.

I would suspect that what Terry really needs is something he can quite literally set his hand to -- and on a personal rather than an organizational basis. If there is somebody already out there who is feeding the poor and homeless, helping impoverished farmers, or trying to rebuild blighted cities -- somebody he could connect with on a one-to-one level -- that would be ideal.

This is clearly something Terry needs to do, but he needs to do it in a hands-on manner and not from behind the scenes. He just needs some direction in finding out what it is.

[truedelphi]

8. That is my take on it as well.

Also, I liked your wording.

And I thought it rather nice to hear about a guy whose mid life crisis did not involve emptying the kids' college funds to buy a sports car and then his running off with some younger woman.

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. Very well said. nt

[truth2power]

7. Is this a parable? n/t

[TygrBright]

20. Yes. But not a 'smack 'em upside the head' kind of parable.

For some reason this (which is going on right now for me and for Terry's family) just popped into the surface of my consciousness when I read some of the threads on DU yesterday.

bemusedly,
Bright

[Mopar151]

9. Do driven well points work in Sudan?

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD0951.html

[xxqqqzme]

10. Maybe a 'compromise' is in order.

He could volunteer w/ a group working in Sudan and help them dig a well. That way he gets to: 1)educate himself about where and how water wells are dug; 2)enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done and people served and 3)be an advocate for the group doing the work by helping to raise money for their projects.

[fasttense]

11. Be ware of deadly unintended consequences.

There was a charity group who could NOT understand why people in Bangladesh did not have wells. So, they went and dug hundreds of wells (tube wells.) Then people started dieing. It seems that there are large quantities of Arsenic in the ground and when people drink from wells the arsenic leaches into the water and can be a very serious health hazard.

http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?20965-Drinking-Water-Arsenic-s-fatal-legacy-grows-worldwideB

That is why it is a very good idea to allow the local community to advise you on your plans to help them.

[Divernan]

13. It would be a life changing experience for him - but he should work with an established group

My kid brother(60-something) is not a Methodist. But somehow, through a friend, he started going to South America with a Methodist church sponsored group - nearly every year for the past ten years. He'd go for 2 or 3 weeks and help build clinics, or schools or town centers. The project was always carefully planned out in advance and coordinated with whatever community they were going to (mostly in Chile). They were in remote areas - no hotels. Each volunteer paid his/her own expenses (they got cut rate airfares) & paid the host families for room and board. My brother's a lawyer, but also a skilled carpenter, and taught locals some things about carpentry too. It was sort of a mini-Peace Corps event.

I used to think, like the OP, it would be more beneficial if my brother and his group just contributed money to the communities. But I've changed my mind. One can read about disasters and extreme poverty, and see films, etc., but to actually live in a community (the Americans were parceled out to stay with local families, ate local food, etc.) makes an impact which leaves people more humane, more politically sensitive to international matters and their effects upon our world. Once he took my high school age niece with him, and she stayed behind and lived in the country with their host family for a couple of months. He's also brought one family's daughter to visit & stay with his family. He has maintained contacts with his host families over the years.

And back home he's organized and sponsored an annual golf tournament to raise funds for mosquito nets to prevent malaria in third world countries. I also think that he and his group were the best possible ambassadors from the US to third world countries. They were not politically motivated and manipulative like USAID. Some friends' son is with USAID and has been posted to South America and Africa. He brings his wife and kids. He is so well paid by local standards that they always live in mansions on private estates, with a gardener, cook, maid and nanny. Plus, he was able to make enough money to recently buy a 1/2 million dollar house in suburban DC, which he rents out. I have to wonder what bribes he took to come up with that kind of money. I think the hard-working Methodist volunteers make a much more positive impression abroad

I agree with another poster who commented how wonderfully refreshing to see a man in midlife crisis who is not pursuing his lost libido with a trophy wife or sports car. He sounds like a good guy who could use a little help in finding a connection with a group doing charitable work in the Sudan.

[jonthebru]

18. There are places right where he lives to help.

And fund raising and raising consciousness would probably be more effective for his time and money.
Good on him though, most people are asleep.

[1monster]

19. Terry should donate the money for the wells. So many more could be dug that way.

And in order to satisfy his need to do something to help, he should find an organization in his own community, county, or state that use his talents and passions to better the living conditions and lives of people closer to home. That way he quadruples (at the very least) his efforts to make a better world.

There are so many different groups that can help effectively change the world, groups who need volunteer help here now, that Terry needn't go half way around the world to pick up a shovel to dig a well in the most inefficient method possible in order to feel like he is doing his part.

I volunteer several hours a month during the school year and several hours a week in the summer with a 501(c)3 that has an outreach program to teach children music and other performing arts. In working with other organizations, both public and private, this 501(c)3 has introduced over 700 kids to music in two years. We are expanding and are currently collecting various musical instruments (through donations: have an old musical instrument that is just taking up space in a closet? P.m. me!) to loan to children who are interested in learning how to play. We are also seeking ways to get those children private or small group lessons in learning their chosen instruments.

Many of the children in the programs with whom we work are incredibly music deprived and we derive a tremendous satisfaction from expanding their horizons; and we discover the occasional rare musical prodigy who now has a far greater chance of a musical career.

Terry can help dig multiple wells and help others in a far greater way by donating the money abroad and volunteering at home.

If, when his mortgage is paid and his children grown and on their own, he still wants to do hands on volunteer work to help in areas like the Sudan, he should check into the Peace Corp. Lillian Carter joined the Peace Corp in her seventies!

[jwirr]

21. I believe that we digging is one of the main focus's if Lutheran World

Relief. I vote with you.

[sulphurdunn]

22. I agree with this post but

with one caveat: Long ago, when I was in the Peace Corps, I spent some time working with a Mennonite development worker who had been in country for many years. He believed that working with the people directly was important preparation for the real development work he hoped would begin after I returned home.