Bringing Water to Belize

Ottumwa Water Works, Tim Alberts brings his experience and education to a country in desperate need of better drinking water resources

About three months ago as Tim Albert sat in church, he knew what he had to do. When a fellow member of the congregation asked if anyone wanted to participate in a missions trip to Belize, the Eldon man knew it was time to step up. Albert, the Production Manager at the Ottumwa Water Works, thought he could bring his experience and education to a country in desperate need of better drinking water resources. He not only has 16 years under his belt with the Water Works but also holds a degree in Water Environmental Technology.

“We are so blessed in this country and we take so many things for granted,” said Albert. “When we landed you could tell this was a different place.”

The trip was organized by Gaither Evangelistic Ministries (GEM). GEM is a missions organization headed by Randy Gaither. Gaither has served as a pastor and as an evangelist ministering around the world. Some of the things GEM does around the world are to establish and construct new churches, spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, feed the hungry, provide medical care for the sick, build and staff pre-schools, and provide education programs.

No sooner had Albert landed in Belize than he was already trying to restore drinking water to an entire village called More Tomorrow. He had also realized that his cell phone didn’t work, although his provider had assured him that it would. This meant he was unable to speak with his family back home while he was on the trip. Therefore, he decided to journal each day so he could remember the experiences to bring home and share with others.

“On the first day we took a visual inventory of projects that we wanted to complete,” explained Albert. The group decided to put out the biggest fire first and move on from there. Once they got to work they realized just what an obstacle they had before them. Not only did many repairs need to be made, but the items they needed to use for the repairs were not able to be used. The elements had deteriorated a plastic ladder and humidity had corroded an electric drill, for example. Albert realized that tools would need to be replaced before the work could even begin.

Once the group had obtained the items needed for the repairs, they got to work fixing the village’s water tower that had been damaged by cows. The process ended up being more difficult than originally expected. The villagers’ cows did more damage than originally thought, which was discovered only after another section of pipe exploded during the process. However, knowing that these people were depending on them, the group didn’t give up. When the repairs were finally completed and the water was pumping appropriately, they chlorinated the water to ensure its safety. Finally, the village had drinking water restored.

Albert says the group went on to dig pipe and lay a water line to the local pre-school. It was a big challenge with the weather conditions the group was facing. It was painfully hot with 90 degree temperatures in the shade and 90% humidity. The group was getting frustrated with complications along the way. However, Albert says the hard work was worth it when he got to see the faces of the pre-school teacher and students when he showed them that the sink had running water.

“There is no running water in any of the children's homes,” Albert points out, “so this was a very big thing to them.”

The last big project completed by the GEM group was to place a fence around the village. As Albert pointed out, the villagers’ cows had done extensive damage and they wanted to ensure that didn’t happen again. They also purchased dusk to dawn lights that would cover the area of the village since security is such a big problem in the area also. Prior to the lights being put in place, it was a night watchman’s job to patrol the area with just a small flashlight. The GEM group made numerous other repairs along with helping conduct inventory on medical supplies used by a team seeing to people’s needs in the jungle.

Albert hopes that the work the group completed will mean clean and safe drinking water for years to come for the village of More Tomorrow in Belize. If the villagers don’t have to spend the time each day to go retrieve drinking water, it means that they can spend time on getting an education or getting a job.

Albert highly encourages people to get involved in helping the people of Belize. He says they need all of the help they can get and he plans on a return trip next year for himself.

Source: Ottumwa Post

Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here

Media

Taxonomy

• Water Supply
• Drinking Water
• Infrastructure