Allah Jabataa

The well project is complete, finished...failed.

What else can I say? Allah jabataa ( Allah did not accept). Despite our many efforts working gloriously as a team, myself as well as the villagers of Timbery were unable to complete our well project. Up on the mountain beneath the mango trees and amongst the scattered boulders sticking out of the ground, there lies a well, a magnificantly beautiful well...that serves no purpose.

Back in July, our well digger hit rock that he was unable to dig through by hand. So, I asked a Senegalese friend of mine who works for a Belgian organization down in Kedougou for help. He happily agreed to help and said he would send up a machine and a digger. I gave him the cash and 4 MONTHS LATER, he arrived, took one look at my well and said, nope not possible.

WHAT!?

YES, that is what he said, and here's why. The well is a traditional well, dug by the hands of a local, not a professionally trained individual who will cost you almost 100 american dollars to dig just one meter. Therefore, it is a bit smaller than a professionally built well and the digger said that is was impossible to fit himself and the machine down in the well to continue digging. The best solution-dig a brand new well, which by the looks of my timeline, is not possible. Hopefully, the wonderful person who will replace me when I leave in two months will have a go and see success. SI ALLAH JABI (IF ALLAH ACCEPTS)

Starting projects here, there is no gurantee of success. It is up to God, if he accepts, it will happen. My American side repeats that silly cliche over and over in my head "Almost doesn't count," but to my surprise it does here. I hung my head low in defeat at our final meeting with the village of Timbery. I apologized over and over, and I was overcome with gratefulness when all I heard was nothing other than absolute appreciation for all the efforts.

I would like to send a heartfelt apology to all of the supporters of this project and many thanks for helping us make an attempt. I will say that it certainly didn't work because we didn't try, for that is all we did. We literally kept running into rock after rock. Allah did not accept, so I suppose I can't either and take defeat.