Today we started the projects to bring water to two more needy families.  On our way to the first we passed this park.

It is a comfortable place to have picnics and BBQ’s and go for a walk in the woods, however it comes with a warning that the area is contaminated with radiation and you should not pick or eat the berries or mushrooms. A grim reminder of the reality of living in a region contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster 32 years ago.

This next home is about 35 kilometres from Chausy and very much alone in the wilderness down a long narrow sandy road with no real driveway at all.

We stopped in the check with the well drillers and get them started before heading back to Chausy for our second project today.

While waiting at a stop sign I observed a small traffic jam at one of the water hydrants in Chausy. One man had just filled his water container and was heading home while a woman filled two pails with water and a 3rd man waited for his turn. For most of the residents living in single family dwellings, this is the everyday reality, no running water and no indoor plumbing.

We do not have to drill a well for the next family as they live within the Chausy boundaries and up until now would use a hydrant like the one above to get their water. This enables us to tie-in to the city water infrastructure.  This family consists of a mother and father as well as 6 children. Here is family photo with all but one of the children, and yes they all live in this small house.

Today the city works crew finished the trench to the street but did not yet connect to the water main.

Inside the house work was underway to bring the water pipe into the house.  In order to do this it was necessary for the family to remove the floor of the kitchen.

The father is going to replace the wood planking on the floor so Dave offered to include some new linoleum to finish the floor, a luxury the family could not afford.

Here is Dave getting an emotional hug of thanks from the mother.

Our appreciative mother was overcome with emotion when trying to thank Margaret for this wonderful life changing gift.  She had not even dreamed that this was possible in her life, she  was unable to speak and gave Margaret a long , warm hug that expressed everything her words could not.

The cost to have this large of an impact on a families life?  About $1,200 for city water and $1,500 – $2,000 for a drilled well. Both of these include a small cupboard, sink and a tap. For most of us in Canada this is an amount of money that we might spend on a small vacation or a luxury item, for these people it is an amount that they cannot even dream of!

Eric McKenzie