It’s finally happening!! The drilling for clean water in Madagascar is hopefully about to begin! After a life changing trip last September, at which time I witnessed the extreme water poverty that exists in Madagascar, it was clear that something needed to be done. After partnering with the mayor of Bekopaka, and 10 long months of prep work, the well drilling is about to begin. The last step is raising the funds to begin breaking ground.

But first a little background: Bekopaka is a rural town of 10,000 people on the western side of Madagascar. These people are in desperate need of clean water. I was in complete shock when I saw the only water source in the area - the turbid brown, polluted Manambolo river. This polluted river is their only source of drinking water, resulting in devastating health impacts to the community. It’s hard to unsee that. Countless people contract illness every year from the water; others die. Children are particularly susceptible to the water-borne illnesses, which results in decreased school attendance, devastating community development, and childhood mortality. When we drove into town, the car was swarmed by kids, begging not for money, but for water. It was heart wrenching. And yet the people are so happy, gracious and thankful for what little they have.

While in Bekopaka, I met the most amazing man named Gilbert. He’s 37 years old, speaks 5 languages, has a smile that lights up his face, and the most altruistic heart. When we would walk through town, nearly everyone came up to Gilbert for a handshake, a hug or a chat. He has such a gentle, warm presence about him. He decided to run for mayor in November 2024, in hopes of ending local government corruption and to truly make a difference in his community. He won the election and is now the mayor of Bekopaka and ready for change.

One of Gilbert's primary goals during his term as mayor is to find a sustainable, clean water source for the people of Bekopaka and the surrounding communities. After 10 months of researching various drilling companies and completing the necessary permitting, we decided to partner with Hydro-Services Madagascar. The next step was the geophysical survey, which finally happened last week. They found water 500 meters outside of the village, running 50 meters beneath the surface! We are ecstatic. Given the favorable geographic survey, drilling is ready to begin and will take 30 calendar days to complete the well. However, it will cost 45,000,000 MGA ($10,166 USD) to drill the well, which includes the geophysical survey (completed), mobilization, drilling, casing, concrete water tower, pump and retraction installation, solar panels, development, and water analysis.

But the people of Bekopaka do not have the funding to pay for the well.

So this is where you come in. Please consider contributing to the GoFundMe account to help fund the well drilling for this desperate community and change the daily lives of over 10,000 people. I will send frequent updates and photos of the progress. I hope to go back to Madagascar within the next year to assess the project, and assuming all goes well, maybe even find another community to help with clean water (and if anyone would like to join on the trip, please let me know!)

Thank you for considering donating to these amazing, worthy people.

(And fyi, if you choose to donate, the website automatically adds an overly generous tip for themself, which does not go to the project. You can choose to not add a tip in this way: Where you enter the donation amount on the website, underneath there is a sliding bar… you can slide the amount on the bar to the left to zero. Feel free to text me if you need help with it!) .