15th June 2016

Europeans championships are taking place in Paris while here in Malawi we are playing our personal Africa Cup and today there was no history. Pozzo dei Desideri beats Thirsty 2-0 with a goal almost expired. But let’s go in order.
Wake up at dawn to go to the welder to retrieve the increased tip and at 7 we were already in the village. The boys had slept there with curtains so we started right away. 40m of excavation to enlarge the hole and then the moment of truth. Just? … Yes! The blue pipes go down to the end! And with compressed air we verify that there is plenty of water. The first well is finished … or rather, the most difficult part, the most unpredictable one, the one that can make you lose days and days is over. Now 2-3 days of masonry work and then we can inaugurate it.
Meanwhile, the village is already celebrating, singing, dancing and the bravest children are also showering! We can not miss the show, we also celebrate and after a while we are already looking ahead. We leave the bricklayers at their work and move in parallel, making their way to the auger for the second village. Second Pozzo dei Desideri. In reality, they are two villages not far away (less than 6/700 meters from each other) that wanted a well each. Already from Italy I had told Agostino that we would do one in the middle, to please everyone. And so it was. The villages are called Kapasule Kwisa and Makenzi Kwisa. Two places in a hilly area, which I can’t understand how they manage to get by. Forgotten by everyone and without everything.
Either way, we start digging at the ground it’s pure rock. Throughout the day a continuous cloud of dust, the crushed rock, but we arrive almost in the evening and nothing to do. We are also with the dust in the face, in the clothes, on the skin but it is not enough, there is no water. The team leader asks me and Agostino what to do, whether to move elsewhere or to continue (we were already 40 meters deep). By now it was 4 PM and moving with the imminent sunset at 5 PM made no sense, so we decided to continue. And at 51 meters here it is finally! The water! And once there was a hole, there was plenty of rock. For safety, however, we have reached 60 meters. And this time we celebrated the celebrations in the moonlight and with the starry sky. Creepy. Because anyway, day or night, if you find water,we celebrate! Since we were at stake, we went ahead and, with an hour’s drive, we have already gone to take the auger to tomorrow’s village where we will begin the excavations for the third Wishing Well. Here too, propitious nightly dances and songs at the sight of the truck with the auger. Moral of the story: 14 hours of work only today, 2 wells with lots of water and our Africa Cup continues! Good night, cooked tonight …