A resource that is scarce in many areas of the world, as well as in the Eritrean village of Degra Mereto, why the area's Salesians have been active in bringing help to the local population.
The kilometers separating the village from Asmara are only 50, but in Eritrea they represent a significant distance. The village of Degra Mereto, with its 1,300 people, lives in a state of geographic, economic and cultural isolation, on which the difficulty of sourcing an adequate water supply affects it profoundly.
The three wells that have been built over the years are unusable: two are polluted, the third has a reservoir that is completely cracked. The village is fast losing its people: there is an urgent need to intervene immediately.
Salesian missionaries in the region, with the involvement of an Italian doctor who has been promoting development projects in Eritrea for years, are now asking for help in building a well. Dr. D'Amore has coordinated, with the involvement of a team of Italian technicians, the project planning aspect, also meeting the head of the Water Department of Asmara for the required permits, while Fr Petros Abraha, SDB, head of the Salesian delegation in Eritrea, concerned himself with involving the community in the preliminary excavations and the local village leaders as regards water management once the well is built.
Once an aquifer is identified, drilling, pumping tests and chemical-bacteriological analysis are carried out.
Now there is a need to finish the work begun: complete the well, install the photovoltaic panels which power the pumping system, lay the pipes in the excavations already installed and place the two fountains in the two different areas of the village chosen as supply points.
The materials need to be bought and sent to Degra Mereto, where the work will start immediately.
For more information, visit: www.missionidonbosco.org
