Kadir Djallo stands with his camel in the village of Sabonkafi, Niger. Kadir, a well diver, descends more than 200 feet into the village’s well to retrieve dropped items and check on silt built up. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

It would be a stretch to say that Kadir Djallo is a cave diver, a highly trained, high-risk adventurer laden with specialized equipment. But in this part of Niger, where the largest bodies of water are rainy season watering holes and the village well, I think Kadir qualifies. He certainly fits the high-risk adventurer role.

Because of the skill with which he practices his craft, he’s known in the village as the plongeur artisanal (artisanal diver). His job: descend into the abyss of the village well and fetch dropped buckets and anything else people lost a grip on. Sometimes he’ll make the trip down the well three times a day. Nobody gives him a penny for doing it, but his work keeps thousands of animals and humans hydrated in one of the most unforgiving parts of Africa.

The well in his village of Adam Kolé quenches the thirst of thousands of cows, sheep, and goats of passing nomads. That makes Kadir and the well somewhat famous around here. In this parched region of Niger bordering the Sahara desert, where during the hot season it can reach 116 degrees, the well, Kadir says, never goes dry.

I was in the midst of a minor celebrity, and I’d never heard of a well diver before. So I asked Kadir to show me what he does.

Kadir changed out of his lounge clothes and into a pair of polyester pants and stained shirt. He kicked off his flip flops, put on a cheap plastic hard hat, stepped into two loops at the end of a rope, and cinched it up around his thighs. Then, as he climbed over the edge of the well, a few strong men lowered him down.

It took just under two minutes to lower him 215 feet into the crust of the earth. When he hit water an echo rose out of the depths: He was going under. He held his breath, braced his feet against the walls of the well, and inched his way under water. There, he checked sediment build up, the perforated cement cylinders that let ground water in, and picked up a puisette, an indispensable item in Niger: a canvas sack used to fetch water.

CRS and a local Nigerien partner rehabilitated the well, building a cement wall around it and putting in place a local committee to manage it (if shoes are worn on the cement near the well, for example, a fine is levied). Prior to refurbishing the well, villagers told me, animal waste, loads of sand, and the occasional person fell in. The water had a foul smell and was the color of weak tea. But people drank it anyway.

Thanks to some basic improvements to the well, Kadir and the rest of the villagers are no longer drinking polluted Adam’s Ale but a refreshing Nigerien Perrier.

- Lane Hartill is CRS’ regional information officer for West and Central Africa

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For our brothers and sisters in East Africa who suffer a long drought and face the prospect of flooding, let us pray that God brings them comfort and spares them from extreme rains.

Let us pray that God helps us deliver child soldiers from the clutches of violent men.

Thank you, Lord, for dedicated workers who demonstrate your kindness and commitment through their everyday actions.

Let us pray for youth participating in Food Fast this month.

Thank you for fair trade groups that seek better lives for laborers who are often marginalized in the global economy.

Last week I took the bus seven hours to Mongu in Western Province of Zambia. I would be catching a ride back with co-workers coming up through Sesheke & Shangombo. Our goal was to gain approval for the SILC project from the Director of Caritas of the Diocese of Mongu, CRS’s preferred partner of implementation in Western Province. The director also happens to be local royalty, meaning his thoughts carry more weight than the average Joe. If we did not receive approval, the project would not be going forward, no matter how beneficial it could be or how well it fit into our other programming.

We wanted to create SILC groups in conjunction with the nutritional groups and agricultural cooperatives that are already in place in five communities one-to-two hours outside of Mongu town. Not only would this have the normal benefits of SILC of increased savings, financial literacy and access to capital, but it would also bring cohesion to these existing groups, strengthening them: true program synergy.

Check out David’s complete blog post and accompanying videos here.

David Vosburg is currently a International Development Fellow at Catholic Relief Services based in Lusaka, Zambia. He is focused on growing CRS’s micro-savings program and providing support for costing analysis and compliance audits.

Well it’s a fabulous night for a moon dance
With the stars up above in your eyes

Then, without warning, Mamadou cuts in.

Can I just have one more moondance with you my love.
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love.

Who knew? Mamadou, the CRS driver, has got some pipes on him. While neither of us will ever win a Grammy, Mamadou isn’t going to let that stop him from showing off his vocals to his captive audience: Me.

Mamadou Issoufou, a driver for CRS Niger, stands with Lane Hartill, West and Central Africa regional information officer. Photo by resident of Niamey, Niger

The passenger seat next to a CRS driver is where I learn the most about the countries I visit. And the drivers who educate me are some of the most valuable employees at CRS.

There was Ken in Ghana who spoke 15 languages, and Ernest in Congo who, during the conflict, smuggled targeted church members to safety by dressing them up, hiding them in the backseat, and bribing men at road bocks. During a 17 hour drive with Moses to southern Liberia, we sluiced through roads as soupy as oatmeal and never got stuck. But that’s nothing. During the civil war, Moses sweet talked stoned teenagers into lowering their guns and letting him through road blocks.

It took some time for Mamadou to open up. We’d sit for hundreds of miles in silence. To pass the time, I made a list of the things I liked about Niger: the cattle horns as long and sleek as Harley handlebars, roasted skewers of succulent beef, tall men riding short donkeys. And then a song would come on and Mamadou would come to life, shocking me with his knowledge of American 80s music.

We both love Dire Straits and Michael Jackson in his prime. Like me, he was a break dancer in younger days. Before I knew it, Mamadou and I were talking sports – another mutual love of ours. He’s a volleyball player. We debated the merit of jump serves and how to put side English on the ball. And despite his size (he wouldn’t look out of place in an NFL locker room) he told me he loves ping pong.

Mamadou is a sports nut. During those stifling days in Niger, Mamadou filled a sports void in me that always gets deeper and darker when I’m on the road.

Mamadou and I also had something else in common: Both of us could drink incredible amounts of water. That meant Mamadou had perfected the fine art of the pit stop.

“Time to water the flowers?” I’d ask him.

“Yep!”

After our gardening was done, we’d stretch our hamstrings, Mamadou counting out the seconds like a PE teacher.

I’d jog around the truck. Sometimes I’d backpedal up and down the highway, resorting to old basketball drills to get the kinks out of my legs.

Just outside of Dosso with the temperature hovering just under 100 degrees, Mamadou who’d been driving about five hours straight, decided to join in.

“Toad! Toad!” he yelled at me.

“What?”

“Do the toad.”

“What’s that?”

“You do like this,” he said, sticking his arms straight out in front of him, and then squatting into a deep-knee bend. Then he exploded upward and landed in another squat.

I couldn’t resist joining him.

Long-haul truckers stared. Mini vans bulging with passengers gaped. Men dozing under nearby trees rolled over and must have thought they were dreaming when they saw us: A massive African man and a wiry American, bullfrogging their way up the national highway.

- Lane Hartill, CRS regional information officer for West and Central Africa

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India: Let us pray that our Father quickens in us a spirit of prayerful solidarity with the people of India who have lost so much in the recent flooding.

HIV Research: Let us pray that God continues to inspire willing minds to seek out and find treatments and a cure for this horrible disease.

Catholic Schools: Thank you Lord for our schools, the teachers and parents and administrators that you send to educate our new generations.

Babies: We thank God for babies, and the incredible hardships their mothers are willing to endure.

Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord for those who persevere in the face of insurmountable obstacles. We’re grateful for the example they set.