CSR member Tom Muhlbach says he “does it for the kids,” and has traveled to Nicaragua six different times on well-drilling projects. He described the most recent of those trips to his fellow members at a meeting Nov. 3.

 

The heat was perhaps the most challenging aspect of the trip, he said, with temperatures often 100 or above with high humidity, something quite foreign to Wyomingites. But, when the well is finished and pumping clean water for a village full of kids, that’s when you know it’s worth it, he said.

 

Muhlbach’s church, First Presbyterian of Cheyenne, puts up the money for the trip, which can run about $27,000 total. 11 people went on the latest trip and stay for about a week while the project is conducted. They use an international water project group to find out where the need for such wells is greatest.

 

Before the well was drilled, children and adults in the area often drank from contaminated wells which had been polluted by animal waste, creating health problems for the local populace.

 

Muhlbach says he’d like to see CSR become involved in a similar water project, something President Brenda Laird said she would work toward making a reality, perhaps partnering with a club like Laramie Sunrise and getting grants from Rotary District 5440.