January 1, 2022

One of the Latter-day Saint Charity endeavors we are very proud of is the “water borehole” project bringing water to over 10,000 Iraqi Kurds.

After drilling down, pipes need to be lowered into the ground to reach the underground water aquifer.

Iraq is one of the countries most vulnerable to decreased water and food availability.  The country is now 40% desert. Last summer residents in several areas of Erbil protested in the streets.

We at Latter-day Saint Charities are partnering with the local Barzani Charity Foundation (for project engineering) and the Public Water Department of the Governorate of Erbil (for drilling equipment) to drill 7 new boreholes and deepen 3 wells that have gone dry. These wells will bring life-saving water to close to 10,000 persons in these areas.

Here is a new generator being delivered to run the pump for a borehole well.

Here they are lowering pipe into the well.  This well is particularly meaningful to the people of Kurdistan.  It will help the family and village of Omer Hujam, who is the son of a Kurdish Peshmerga soldier who was beheaded by ISIS.

Here we see the delivery of the generator for the well pump mentioned earlier.

Getting close to putting the cap on the borehole.

Getting close to completion.

Water beginning to flow.

This is Kurdish Peshmerga soldier Hujam Surchi just before he was publicly beheaded by ISIS in 2015, only 7 years ago.  He left a wife and 10 children.  He was the first person of his little village to become a Peshmerga during the Kurdish uprising against Saddam Hussein.  He is considered a martyr and hero for his fearlessness in the face of death for his country.

Here Jim gives the ok standing next to Lawand Abdullah (our project engineer from BCF to his left) and Omer, martyred Hujam Surchi’s son and a beneficiary of the water well.

Look at that newly liberated water flow!

Here Barbara, Omer Hujam Surchi, Jim, and Lawand celebrate the flowing well.  Omer has stated publicly (soon to be seen in an LDS newsroom article) how grateful he is to Latter-day Saint Charities for making this well possible.

Jim enjoys a glass of water from the new water well!

Barbara, Jim, and Omer Hujam Surchi celebrate the new well.

Of course Barbara couldn’t pass up the chance to say hello to some of Omer’s goats!

Driving across the surrounding parched land after visiting the well and heading toward some paved road.

And on to the next well!!  Here we go again drilling a brand new well.  We will keep you posted!