Under the leadership of Dave Parker, a team of men designed and built a well that is activated by a merry-go-round. By spinning the merry-go-round in the playground, the children are able to pump water to a nearby water tank for drinking, cleaning and cooking.
The idea of the merry-go-round well has been used in other areas of Africa where the water supply is not plentiful. Even though Liberia receives plentiful supply of water, the long dry season of 5-6 months presents a difficult challenge for many Liberians. Often the only water available in the dry season can be found in local rivers, where the water is often not sanitary. In the urban areas, where a growing portion of the Liberians now live, the wells run dry in the dry season, and water becomes scarce.
The Susie Guenter Orphanage, which is near the ELWA campus and about three miles from ELWA Junction, was an excellent location for the merry-go-round. Jefferson Zeon, the owner of the orphanage, was very helpful to the workers. The orphanage had one operating well but a second well had gone dry. The Americans relied heavily upon several teams of Liberian workers for this project. The teams included well diggers, cement diggers, welders and carpenters. In addition, local Liberian welders built the water tower and transported the water tower to the orphanage. The welders also constructed and welded the parts of the merry-go-round. The well-digging team determined that the second well was not strong for the merry-go-round well. So, a team of three men dug a new well over the course of three days. Cement culverts were used to form the sidewalls of the well.
Dave Parker and his team of missionaries and local men installed the merry-go-round on top of the well. The engineering and design of the merry-go-round was carried out by Dave with the help of various engineers in South Bend, Indiana and then transported by plane to Liberia. The design and parts had been tested in the States. So, once the well had been dug and the water tower lifted into place, it was a matter of putting together the parts of the well and connecting the pipes to pump the water.
To cap off the project, after Dave Parker and his team left Liberia, Jefferson Zeon and the Liberians laid the pipe for a water line from the water tower to a nearby building so that the Orphanage suddenly had indoor plumbing! We saw photos of the kids at the orphanage taking a shower. Clearly Jefferson and the kids had taken ownership of the merry-go-round and figured out how to employ it for the benefit of the children!
Update: Jan. 06, 2010 - Check out the photos of building the well on Flickr.
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