Our second morning in Iringa started bright and early as a few students went for a run at sunrise. The rest of the students were either woken up when the army ran by singing a song or just in time for the 7:30 a.m. breakfast. Breakfast included fresh fruit bought at the market the day before. Shortly after breakfast, we set off on our morning excursion.
What’s up, y’all!
Our second morning in Iringa started bright and early as a few students went for a run at sunrise. The rest of the students were either woken up when the army ran by singing a song or just in time for the 7:30 a.m. breakfast. Breakfast included fresh fruit bought at the market the day before.
Shortly after breakfast, we set off on our morning excursion. Our fearless drivers navigated us through treacherous terrain to our first stop, Mibikimitali. This village was particularly special because it was visited by a 2020 Design for Life team and is now having its system implemented.
We were greeted with chai and maandazi (traditional fried bread) at the pastor’s house, then explored the village briefly before heading to the location where they were beginning to drill a borehole. Through the noise of the air hammer drill, we learned about the process involved in drilling a pump hole. We all enjoyed listening intently to Ken and Onno’s insight.
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Afterward, we boarded the coaster again and drove to the primary school, where a former hand pump had been converted to a submersible pump with two SIM tanks, a filter, and two distribution points. We used this opportunity to take out our water quality equipment and conduct our first water test, led by Erin. The first test measured conductivity, followed by turbidity. The results of the conductivity test were better than expected, while turbidity levels were slightly higher than American standards. After taking in the view of a hilltop soccer field, we said our goodbyes and got back on the road.
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Our next stop was Ihemi, a nearby village with a system designed by the 2015 team. After a brief visit to the pastor’s house and signing a ledger, we went to the borehole completed in 2017. We got a quick look at the pump controls and a distribution point by the road before starting our journey back to Iringa. The drive included karaoke with song selections from Mikaela, Austin, and Santi, which received mixed reviews from the rest of the group. Yikes.
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Due to our lengthy journey, we opted for peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches for lunch as we prepared for our fluid mechanics lesson. We split into our village groups and solved a couple of problems involving rising and gravity mains. We were pleasantly surprised when Matt instructed us to dust off our MATLAB skills, as we would need them to solve more complex problems going forward.
By importing our experimental GPS mapping from Mibikimitali into Google Earth Pro, we took our first steps in mapping the villages, examining elevation and potential distribution points. After investigating the topographical complexities of each village, we took a break to play a few games of cribbage, counting exclusively in Swahili.
In need of fresh air, some students played soccer in the backyard of the Lutheran Center, while others ventured to the local market near Iringa's signature clock tower. The market trip was a success, with a few students returning with goodies. The soccer game transitioned into hacky sack as the group waited for the coaster to head to dinner.
We enjoyed a variety of pizzas at Mama Iringa’s and returned home with full bellies and minds enriched by priceless knowledge. It was another amazing adventure filled with academic achievement and awesome activities!
- Blog post by Maria Hanson and Santiago Damonte Vegas
