Day 3
Today was a day full of information and fun!
This morning, we drove out to a World Vision agricultural project. We got to see how drip irrigation worked with our own eyes. They were just finishing the harvest of peanuts in the field we walked into, and we observed how two large plastic barrels were set atop cinder blocks. When the spigots were opened, water filled the rather thin lines that led to the plants. With this low pressure, slow drip irrigation system, a village is able to have up to four harvests a year, with three different crops growing at once in different sections. The crops we saw growing were: corn, peanuts, and millet. We got to sample fresh peanuts taken right from the ground. They tasted very different than the dry roasted type I was used to eating in the US!
World Vision is now teaching these villagers skills beyond the slow drip irrigation. They are selling their crops for a profit earning three times more than they did in the past per year. The people are learning to put money aside to save for equipment placement. They are also investing funds in their future—the children. To this end, they are building a school (we also saw this work in progress as schools open soon—October 13th).

Other villages are observing the difference these new systems are making in the life of the people who are now using World Vision’s model. They see how this local area is avoiding starvation during “off season” months when other areas without the irrigation system can no longer grow crops.
One member of our group asked if part of our child’s sponsorship was going to help programs like this, and the answer was, “Yes!” It’s good to know that the whole community in which the child lives receives the benefit of this partnership.
Well, I’ll sign off for the Moody Radio Team in Senegal for now… More to come!
Jennifer