| Several years ago, a church in Nebraska donated a windmill
for Malawi. Due to problems with the location initially selected, it was
never erected. Finally, in 1997, the right location, all the right parts
and the timing all came together to get it assembled and erected.
[NOTE: The windmill was donated by the First Presbyterian Church of Beatrice, NE.] |
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| The chosen site was at the Kalikumbi Health Center, pumping from a deep bore hole into a cistern. |  |
| Raising the tower was simply a matter of running a lifting rope over a tripod; then using the lorry plus manpower to pull it erect. |  |
| [As the tower was nearly erect, care had to be taken that it did not continue on over center. This was done with ropes attached to the back side.] |  |
| When the tower was finally up, everything settled into place within inches; a few taps with the hammer; put the bolts in and it was done. |  |
| [The windmill, finally standing erect.] |  |
| Throughout the whole job, the locals watched intently ... but the cattle didn't seem to be bothered. |  |
| The first turning of the windmill. "That would pump lots of water if we had the rest of it connected." |  |
| [The windmill was manufactured and partially funded by the Dempster Company of Beatrice, NE.] |  |
| Mr. Soko: "We have been working on the windmill. And the group is very happy because the windmill is on now" |  |
| Everyone was anxious to celebrate a job well done. |  |
| Setting the Pump July 9, 1997
Now that the tower was up, the team still had to drop the pipe and pump rod into the hole and install the pump. |
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| Dropping the pipe in the hole was a manual operation, using only pipe wrenches and a vise to keep it from dropping too fast. |  |
| The next step was to put the pump on the well head. |  |
| Now to prove the hand pump worked ... |  |
| Then they attached it to the windmill engine and let the wind do the work. . |  |