Fresh water will be available when you open a faucet. A shower can be turned by turning a handle. But what if there was no water at the tap and you were responsible for bringing it home?
This is how nearly one billion people live around the globe. One in eight people do not have water access immediately. “blue gold,”It’s not possible to carry it around for miles.
Worldwide demand for freshwater could exceed supply by 20 percent in the next 10-20 year. It could soon cost more than oil.
Daniel Ohmann grew up in Greenwald Minnesota and was familiar with the process of pumping water. Most farms had windmills. Many windmills were installed by his father to pump water in the area before electricity was available.
Father Ohmann, a Maryknoll priest in Tanzania years later, thought of windmills when he saw women carrying five-gallon water bottles six miles away from a river. Africa is prone to drought. Many times, you can see villagers scooping water from their makeshift wells along scorched riverbeds.
“You don’t need to be here long to see that water is the number-one need in this part of Africa,”Father Ohmann said. Father Ohmann. Maryknoll Fathers and BrothersThe U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas mission society was founded in 1911.
Many windmills were donated to Father Ohmann by Minnesota farmers who converted to electricity. Other windmills were purchased from Australia, South Africa, and Nebraska to help support Tanzania’s efforts to guarantee that all households have access to water. The windmills were shut down by the government after 15 years due to inefficiency.
Father Ohmann made it his mission to pump them again and several more were added. Twenty windmills supply water to 18 villages. Each one fills a tank of 2,000 gallons, which can be used to water orchards and gardens. Today’s system is about $20,000.
“People enjoy better health in the villages served by clean water,”Father Ohmann. “Diarrhea and cholera, once common, are now rare.”
You can find more information about Father Ohmann and Maryknoll missioners at http://www.maryknollsociety.org. Follow Maryknoll on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MaryknollNews) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/maryknollsociety
