Shelby’s Well: Just in Time
Entrance to Shelby’s well upon completion.
What a Difference 2 Days Make
It has been a little over 10 years, since our founder, Shelby Neese first heard God speak to him about water that was beneath his feet in the desert. Since that time, GCI has navigated some difficult times ranging from Shelby’s near fatal accident, to a worldwide pandemic. All the while, we have pressed on to see this project come to fulfillment. Today, we celebrate with you that “Shelby’s Well” has been finished!
As with any major project, the timing of the completion is always in the forefront of our minds. This one was certainly no different. We had hoped to finalize it while he had a U.S. team there this summer, however, Covid delayed equipment and materials, adding additional time. It was even more frustrating because we heard over and over on that trip that a major drought had been predicted for the entire area. However, what seemed like a setback and disappointment proved to be no less than a miracle. Just as our drilling team installed and tested the pump at Shelby’s Well, people began showing up out of the desert – lots, and lots of people. While this is not unusual, the story they brought with them was.
Our team learned that the reason so many were showing up wasn’t just curiosity about our drilling team’s presence in the area. It wasn’t that they wanted to taste water from the new well. It wasn’t even that this well was closer than others in this barren land. They were showing up because two days earlier, one of the major wells servicing that area had completely broken down in the midst of a major drought. This literally meant no water. No water for the people of over 20 villages who were now showing up at the well. No water for thousands of goats, camels, and donkeys that they brought with them. No water for women who needed to cook, for children who were thirsty. A Rendille elder informed us that, had the project not been finished when it was, most of the livestock in the community would have been lost.
10 Years is a long time to wait, but for this community it was the perfect timing. On behalf of this Rendille community of Northern Kenya, to all who have given toward this project over the past several years, we say, “Thank You!”
