Water is one of the most critical issues in Zambia and throughout Africa. Seeds of Hope is attacking this need by equipping and training in

• Water Well Drilling
• Hand Pump Repair
• Bio-Sand filters
• Hygiene and Sanitation

WATER WELL DRILLING: Thanks to the generous gift of a cable tool drilling rig by Orley Campbell, we are drilling new wells in impoverished communities. We are training additional crews to meet the need as more drilling rigs can be shipped to Africa and Mexico. Link to Rotary find out more.

HAND PUMP REPAIR: Millions of rural peoples rely on hand pumps for their family's drinking water. In many places wells have been drilled without local people having the knowledge to repair them. Crews can be trained to repair broken wells that have been out of service for years, thus multiplying the production of clean water throughout a region. Our program encourages hands on training on several types of hand-pumps to ensure the pump repair technicians are adequately trained.
Each well can bring clean water to 300-500 people. This has an immediate effect on water born diseases in a community. Often the repair will involve changing a washer that costs less than 2 dollars to replace. With a few tools and a little training Africans can be equipped to help their own communities. Several have been trained in repairing broken hand-pumps. These students will become teachers throughout their communities.


BIO SAND FILTERS: These filters purify drinking water right in a family’s home, removing up to 97% of the pathogens in water. S.H.I.P. is manufacturing and installing Bio Sand Filters form our Resource center in Zambia. Through partnerships with other organizations we are targeting areas in deep need for the benefits that these filters bring. We are training teams to begin Bio Sand filter programs on a large scale. We are partnering with CAWST, Thirst Relief International, and Lifewater International on this project.The filters that we are using are made with concrete, but We have also developed a plastic prototype that will be useful in areas where the weight of the concrete is an issue.
Story Links: Rotary

BASIC HYGIENE AND SANITATION TRAININGS: This most basic participatory training is requested every where we go. Women's groups, school children, and village leaders are grateful for this straightforward teaching on disease transmission and the importance of hand-washing and latrines. We use Lifewater International's participatory training program. It focuses on helping people identify their own problems and come up with local solutions that will work within their own culture with local resources

The hygiene training has excited many because it gives them specific ways they can break some of the cycles of sickness, disease and poverty that are sadly part of their daily lives.

The unemployment rate is staggeringly high throughout Southern Africa ( up to 90%).It’s especially hitting hard the orphaned youth left vulnerable from the loss of their parents to disease and Aids. We are addressing this need in three ways.

Education and Literacy Training is often a pivotal step towards breaking the cycle of joblessness. We have begun teaching classes for all ages. Some of which target children who cannot enter school because of poverty related issues.

Basic Skills Training in Carpentry, Building, Sewing, Welding Etc. are all part of the trainings we are beginning to establish through the Resource Centers.

Small Business Development is a key to the success of our training projects. We are teaching marketing skills to the farmers as well as establishing new and innovative businesses that are appropriate to the communities.

Most everyone in Zambia (and Africa) depend on rain for growing corn. Unfortunately the results are almost always disappointing. S.H.I.P. is providing practical technologies to these farmers on Demonstration Farms. We have introduced Drip Irrigation Kits, as well as Treadle Pumps that now provide irrigation to those same fields have now increased food production all year round. Training is also being offered in basic agriculture practices that can increase crops in both quality and yield. Throughout Africa substandard farming techniques are used at every level. The problems lie in every area ranging from inadequate watering, poor soil development, inappropriate fertilizing, and poor pest control. We will employ better growing techniques throughout the process from ground preparation, fertilization, consistent watering and proper use of pesticides. This will yield a superior vegetable that will sell easier and for more profit. The quality could open up additional markets.

Through a hands-on approach local Africans can see, experience, and be trained in functioning businesses and technologies. By using this method of training we believe that potentially thousands of Zambians will be directly exposed to business and agricultural innovations that are, in most cases, available in Africa, but have not been used on the local level. Africans will be trained in how to use these technologies with the idea that they will take what they have learned and benefit their own communities by developing their own businesses as well as teaching and training others.

Our next step is to begin regional training centers where we can teach the Zambians on various levels. Some of the technologies we will highlight in our regional training centers will include, but not be limited to:

In Kasempa and Ndola, training centers have been established where education is being provided to children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn.

Wells have been drilled at three Ndola orphanages, which have brought fresh water to hundreds of orphans who previously walked for hours to retrieve water. In the past communities have closed schools for lack of water. We are happy to put this practice to an end.

Hygiene training has been provided for all people. However, it has been most beneficial to the widowed mothers in the communities. We have trained and taught these women basic hygience skills which has saved the lives of their children.