Today was the first day of resistivity testing! In order to begin collecting data about potential water sites as soon as possible, the team split into two groups in the morning. Travis went with our hydrogeological mentor, Vince, to begin the testing in Nkagula. Everyone else went to Liti to do greetings and complete the same community mapping activity as in Nkagula. Once they identified points of priority where there is the greatest need for water, we visited those sites to take GPS coordinates and notes on the locations.

It was then time for lunch in Nkagula! The team was able to help the women of the village cook lunch, which consisted of nsima, a combination of maize flour and water that is rolled into a ball by hand when eating and used to pick up other foods, chicken, goat and a vegetable pesto. We were able to chop vegetables, shuck pigeon peas, and stir the nsima over the fire. The nsima is extremely hard to mix and requires lots of strength that very few of the team members have! Once lunch was cooked, we carried the extremely hot plates, which the women of the village could carry without issue, to the men and washed their hands. Finally, the women could sit down and eat lunch, which was very delicious!!

After lunch, the team again split into two groups in order to accomplish more. With different members of the groups, one group conducted community surveys in Liti just like the ones in Nkagula. The other group went back to resistivity testing in Nkagula. It might be boring to some people, but, to me, it was very exciting to be a part of! The testing utilizes metal poles in the ground that send electricity to each other in order to test the conductivity of the ground and find where water is located. It was really cool to learn about the science and watch the data roll in revealing what was potentially below the surface. The team brought in to conduct the testing were also great to talk to and I learned so much from them! I even got blackjack, little thorns, stuck to my skirt when walking through the fields during testing. When I returned, I was so lucky to have a group of children help me pick the blackjack out of my skirt! I am very grateful they were there to help, otherwise, I might still be covered in them!!

After this exhausting but rewarding, we were finally ready to head back to Na’mangazi Farm for dinner. We then made our plans for the next day, did a little bit of work but then took a well needed break after these couple of long and tiring days.  The team is extremely exhausted so we turned in early, but still very excited to go back and meet more people in the communities tomorrow!

Tionana mowa,

Lexi