Helping needy Malagasy kids to become 

Jesus’ kids!

June 2008                 Volume 11, Number 6

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."         Proverbs 22:9

 Betikara Project Update 

For the month of May we were busy working on the new water system for Betikara. We found that the current system, while sufficient for the present building, will not be sufficient to supply water to the volunteer housing, medical clinic, and possible directors house that was not included in the four phases of the Betikara building project. So, we are beefing up the water system and will convert the old holding tank (that is presently above the bathrooms) into a hot water reservoir for the solar water system that is in the near future plans for Betikara.

We are making progress on the water system. We already completed a new pump house, complete with pump that is operational. We ran the water line that will supply the water tower when it is finished, as well as having already laid the electrical wiring that will be used to automate the water system with two float valves. We are already using the new pump to lift water from the springs up to the building site for the water tower so that the workers have easy access to water for their cement work.

The present submersible pump that we are using is capable of lifting water 50 meters (164 feet). The new pump is capable of lifting water 85 meters (279 feet). We saw the need for a new pump for three main reasons. First, the current pump is not strong enough to keep the reservoir above the bathrooms filled at all times. During the day when a lot of water is being used the reservoir sometimes goes dry and we have to wait on the submersible pump to catch up. Second, the water presently is only being pumped above the ceiling of the first floor of the Betikara building. Once the water tower is finished the water will be pumped above the ceiling of the fourth floor of the water tower. That is an additional 7.5 meters (24.6 feet). Third, In order to get enough pressure for the current water system we are using an additional pressure pump in order to have enough water pressure. We hope that when the water tower is finished the water pressure will be adequate without the need for an additional pressure pump.

Thus, the need to beef up the water system and build the tower of “Barrybel” as one person has already labeled our current water tower. As you can see from the above picture, the tower is going to be rather large. Outside dimensions are 5 meters by 5 meters (16.4 feet by 16.4 feet). The first two floors will be offices. You can see two windows and one door in the foreground of the picture that will be installed in the first floor walls. The third floor will be without walls and the fourth floor will be the actual water reservoir.

Once completed, if my calculations are correct, the water tower will hold about 7,671 U.S. gallons of water. This will be an increase in stored water of about 1,400 percent. The current reservoir, above the bathrooms, only holds 528 U.S. gallons of water. We plan on running a 1 and 1/2 inch water line into the building, so there should be plenty of pressure and water. We are also pricing a filtering system that will be installed just below the water tower reservoir, if we decide to install a filtering system for the water.

In the past some of the Betikara volunteers have been sick with stomach problems. So, we feel that a water filtering system on the tower project would be a good use of funding. Since we plan on having more volunteers in the future that will have their own housing, we are trying to get set up to make their stays as care free as possible.

The workers say that the water tower should be completed by the end of September. I, however, am projecting the end of 2008. Time will tell.

  Indiana Church of Christ 
  225 East Pike Rd. 
  Indiana, PA  15701 

“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.” 
                           Proverbs 19:17