We first visited Ropile, a rural community of approximately 800 people in 2018. The area is on the plain, neighboring a wildlife conservancy. The women not only walk more than 2 miles each way to collect water (from a contaminated source), but they must walk through the bush in the conservancy and often encounter dangerous animals! The area includes two small schools of 120 students.
The video below shows women in Ropile fetching water for drinking and cooking at the only water source available during the dry months.
An excellent site was identified for drilling, by hydrogeological testing, and the landowner agreed to donate the parcel of land to the community for the purpose of drilling a public borehole. The land deed has been transferred to community ownership and the well was drilled this month (August 2019). We are so excited to share that the well has been test pumped and is yielding 48 gallons of clean water per minute! Praise God! We are so thankful for His blessing and provision for Ropile and for allowing us the privilege of being a conduit for His unfailing love.
As you can see from the video below, the people of Ropile of are very grateful too!
The well has been capped and we are in the process of getting bids to construct and install the solar pump, panels, tower and tank. This part of the project costs an average of $20,000 to bring the clean water to the surface for the community to use.
Please consider partnering with us to bring water to the families of Ropile as soon as possible. You can make a financial contribution on our secure donation page or by mailing a check to:
Montana on a Mission
P.O. Box 696
Big Timber, MT 59011
Follow us this World Water Week as we share some of the projects and communities we have been working with since 2014.
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