At the dedication of the Maternity Clinic, the need for a water supply became evident. The clinic was prepped for water (toilet, sink, bath tub) but no water was available to supply the fixtures. Thus, the second major project for the Friends of the Congo was initiated—a well. Besides benefitting the clinic, a well would supply safe drinking water to the community and also provide water for mixing concrete for future clinic buildings. Unfortunately, it was determined that a well in Yassa would need to be approximately 600’ deep and the project would be a costly one.

COVID-19 greatly impacted our fund raising efforts for well construction. Additionally, we had a setback in our funds when the solar installation on the Maternity Clinic was struck by lightning and was replaced with a more robust system. It would also be necessary to construct a septic system to handle the waste water that would be discharged from the clinic. However, despite these obstacles, we were finally able to collect sufficient funds to contract for the well in December of 2020, although we were forced to accept the lowest bid. In July of 2021, water flowed for the first time in Yassa.

Unfortunately, success was only temporary. In October of 2022, the well failed. We contacted Weast, an international company that has produced many wells in Africa, to have them review the situation. They determined that the well was improperly sized and was not deep enough to reach consistent water. A second well was determined to be the only solution. After many starts and stops, and drilling equipment issues, the new solar-powered well was put into operation in August of 2023 and continues to operate reliably.