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the HERALD Community Wednesday November African venture a journey of enlightenment By ANDREW ISAAK Herald Special I have been home in Canada for more than a month now Im back at the University of Waterloo knee deep in the grind of school with the exams and assignments quickly piling up Its hard to believe that a couple of months ago I was across the world in Zaire putting together a water pump system foi a remote hospital along the Sudan border A personal journal five rolls of film find a well used Tilley Hat are reminders of my time there- The solar project I had worked on was in its final stages by the middle of August The much needed parts ordered in early June had still not arrived The old gasoline powered water pump was still pathetically chugging away but would not last much longer especially since our gasoline supply was very low and there was no replacement drive belts for the motor ie it was now or never The scaffolding built for the solar panels was pretty much completed We had to ration the use of cement because of limited supplies however we had to be sure that the five meter high structure would still be secure With a left all 28 solar panels were brought down to the site for a day of installa tion However the African rain came down and put a damper on the solar panel installation that day A valuable day was gone with not much visible progress I have to admit that I was frustrated the day had not gone as planned when we were so close to our goal With renewed hope the next day and a little more sunshine we were able to put up seven solar panels Problems for that day included finding out the manufacturer had drilled the holes incorrectly the support bars and the special screwdriver for the electrical connections was not to be found with the panels These problems delayed us but didnt stop us We modified and made do with what we had The remainder of the 28 solar panels were up in a couple of days The solar were placed at an angle of 20 degrees to the horizontal to allow dust to be washed off by the rain while still allowing for good exposure to the bright African sun The next five days were the most critical and rather exciting We had to make some final elec trical wiring arrangements for the solar panels dismantle the old pump system inspect the state of the down pipe in the well and then install the new submer sible pump At this point of taking apart the old pump there could be no water pumped to the water tank for a few days Note The existing water system supplied water to five of the missionary homes on the mission station The reliability of the existing pump and the amount of possible water store prevented the hospital from being put ontothe existing water system This new solar powered pump system and the construc tion of a hospital water tank to supply the hospitals water needs were the objective of this pro ject Everyone using the water system had to be extra conser vative v their water use We were concerned with pro blems inside the well because there was reason to believe something was lodged down the well that could impede us putting down the new submersible pump system Note This new submer sible pump required more room in the well than the old pump did To check the well we did some tests with the pipe and a metal can atached to the bottom This can was the approximately diameter of the new pump We were pleased to find that there seemed to be no problems down the hole The day Saturday arrived to attach the submersible pump to the down pipe Imagine what those guys look like when theyre drilling for oil on those commercials a couple of workers guiding a pipe down into a drill hole looks easy eh Well we had a meter down pipe which we had to put down the well On the bottom of this pipe we were going to screw on a fairly heavy submersible pump Andrew Isaak a resident Georgetown curren tly studying at Waterloo University recently retur ned from a Christian mission In Zaire where he was involved with a hospital water Pictured above Andrew poses with left student Isokl and right local farmer In addition as we lowered this pump down the hole we had to tie on to the down pipe the electrical cable and a security cable It didnt take too long before this got very heavy even with three men holding it up while another two men helped tie up the cables In the midst of this experience my contact lens decided to jump out of my left eye I quickly tried to find it and put it in a safe place while the other guys patiently waited for me We were thrilled when the pump and down pipe were safely in the well hole The clouds had rolled in when we tned our first solar pump that day The results did not look pro mising a little stream of water came out of the pipe but nothing too significant and it certainly would not fill up our new water tank very quickly The day was over and I was not happy with what looked like the end results of my time there I was hoping it was not anything more than the lack of sunshine that had slowed the pump down The following day was Sunday with church starting at 10 am It was my last full day in Aba Zaire and the sun was up and shining a perfect day to solar pump I turned the solar panel switch and gave the pump another try Wow did it pump We quickly had one of our water tanks filled up The project was a success I left Aba the next day on a small six seater Cessna I thought I was ready to leave It had been a long summer I had seen and experienced a plethora of things but I also missed my parents and my friends As the plane took off from the grass airstrip I had a lump in my throat as I had my last look at the people I had work ed beside who had taught me many things about their culture and language who had welcomed me into their homes and fed me who repeatedly thanked me for the work I was doing I found the prospect of starting the journey home difficult These people who are living in one of the poorest countries inthe world had provided me with a lifechanging summer and a new perspective of Africa They may have been poor with respect to economics but they were some of the most gracious and caring peo ple I had ever known During the last month the country of Zaire has been in the news Its in turmoil after the soldiers and the citizens were get ting fedup with food shortages and inflation topping 1000 per cent In the city soldiers led mobs in rioting and looting The small town of Aba is on the other side of the country to the capital Kinshasa However while I was there I sensed the problems that were developing in the country There were no celebrations or parades on Zaire Day as there had been other years I heard of soldiers taking food from local villagers because they were not paid enough money to feed themselves The value of my Zaire dollars had gone from to American dollars during the three months I was there To me Zaire was no longer another African country in tur moil that was briefly glanced at in the newspaper Now this coun try was real to me Id been there met the people worked with them learned from them seen their problems and tried to help as best as I could I now have an understanding of Africa and would love to go back there sometime A Royal treat WI members attend special day 9 SERVICES By RUTH KRANENDONK Public Relations Officer Halton District Womens In stitutes were treated to Royalty at The Royal Many I members from were thrilled to be in attendance when The Duchess of York officially opened the Royal Hqrse Show November 7 Cameras flashed as Her Royal Highness entered the Coliseum in a beautiful horse driven carriage After the ceremony was over and The Duchess took her seat the crowd cheered on as they watched Tan Miller ride Big Ben to victory in the Crown Royal Cup Final These Womens Institute members were in attendance for the first ever Womens Day at the Royal which was hosted by the Federated Womens In stitutes of Ontario Peggy Knapp approached the executive of The Royal and convinced them this would be a very worthwhile day which proved to be very suc cessful A luncheon at the Cafe welcomed 240 guests A very special Lee Award was presented to Knapp for his lifelong encourage ment to the Womens Institute organization Guest speaker was Mavis Wilson former Member of Parliament and Minister in charge of Womens Issues Mrs Wilson spoke on Issues Facing Women In The Halton was invited to put its best foot forward by presenting a fashion show with clothing pro vided by The Casual Way in Toronto Also new this year is a handson craft exhibit and demonstrations coordinated by ithe Womens Institutes with more than 12 different artisans in cluding rug braiding jeweHry making knitting and quilting and more A very special event is taking place in November at the Community Centre in A celebration of years of success for Halton District will take place this Sun day at p All former District Presidents and Secretaries have been invited as special guests A luncheon will be catered by Dublin Branch Anyone is welcome to join the festivities For more informa tion contact Maisie Lasby Wardrobe Wizardry is a new course being offered by many Womens Institute Branches in Halton A successful workshop for leaders presented by Pass It On Leaders will be teaching their groups how to dye silk scarves and to make jewellery from friendly plastic as well as scarf tying and flattering figure lines If you havent already sign ed up contact your nearest branch to inquire about space available A combined HaltonWellington Achievement program is planned for March 1992 How about a Retreat A tour- day Personal Growth and Development program is a new venture planned by Ontario Womens Institutes for February at Crieff Hills Retreat and Conference Centre You may choose either More Pleasure in Music or Battenburg Lace as the emphasis for your well- deserved getaway For more in formation contact Jane Croft 4168542789 or Donna Christmas at The Lee A visit to the Lee Museum Home in Stoney Creek on December will guarantee a- real Old Fashioned Christmas This beautiful home is decorated in traditional style with popcorn and cranberry strings and boughs of pine and cedar to give it a feeling of stepping back to a simpler Christmas OFFICE PARTIES HOUSE PARTIES DANCES COMPLETE BAR SERVICE INCLUDE FULL STAFF AVAILABLE HALL RENTALS PARTY RENTALS DELIVERY CHRISTMAS PARTIES OFFICE OR HOME Kentnerj have a wide voriety of buffots and party trays to suit your needs CALL TODAY FOR YOUR FREE BROCHURE GIFT BASKETS A CHRISTMAS TRADITION Each Gilt Baikal Our hat 1h world or thaw tallowing diagonal Hems lai Hems 14 Items UK FESTIVE FRIDAYS CASH BAR DINNER HALL DECORATIONS DISC JOCKEY Some December Doles Mill St Georgetown 8730404 GfOROETOWN