Pictures!

Here are a few pictures we were finally able to load.

This is the old, broken-down windmill that was once used by the village. The well has gone saline and is now useless.

Here is a well found nearby the windmill. It is open and therefore susceptible to contamination. It has also gone saline, along with a number of other dugout wells in the area. Obviously, groundwater is not a sustainable option for Saadani.

This is a nearby riverbed where the residents currently get their water. As you can see, the source is completely open and very susceptible to contamination. Also, any pathogens entering the river upstream cannot be separated from the water before collection.

Yellow containers strapped to bicycles is the current method of transportation for the river water.

Here is where Monica and I are living (actually next door but there is a big tree in front of ours).

Here we are with some children from the village. We spent some time on the beach walking around with them.

Today, Monica and I had some meetings with the tourism officials and the village executive officer. We are currently negotiating the scale of the project as well as price. The first draft of the rainwater harvesting system ended up being twice the cost of our available budget. We are currently researching other options for water storage, such as a very large underground tank. Mr. Paulo (our contractor) is going to research this option so that we may compare costs. We are also trying to get contributions from the residents of Saadani and from Tanapa. These may be contributions of materials transport, labor, or money.

Other than that, Monica and I are doing well. The weather has been quite gloomy lately, but we like it because it's nice and cool ('poa' in Swahili). This morning, I got up at 6 am to take pictures of the sunrise over the Indian Ocean. It's really nice getting up early. I think I'll do it more often.

That's all for now! Baadaye (Later)!