Watch Twestival's first well digging in Ethiopia

Twitterers worldwide raised $250,000 for wells in Africa. Watch the first one going in!

Mon, Apr 13 2009 at 2:53 PM

In February, MNN joined as a sponsor in the first worldwide Twitter fundraising campaign for Charity:water. The campaign was a great success!

When I interviewed Charity:water founder Scott Harrison in New York last month, I was pleased to hear that the event raised about $250,000 -- enough to supply water for 50 villagers in Africa.

The first well was drilled in one of the the remotest regions of Ethiopia in a village called Mai Nebri. You can watch the video of the first day of drilling above.

Here's an excerpt from the recent e-blast from Chairty:water about the project:

Like so many in this harsh region, Mai Nebri's women and children walk more than 5 hours every day for unsafe water. Some of the women had deformed backbones from carrying 40 pounds of water. A hyena attack recently claimed the life of a child on her way to the water hole at 4 a.m., and waterborne diseases like bilharzia and diarrhea are common. Many of the girls here don't get a chance to attend school and instead have to fetch water.

This well will change all that, affording opportunities for agriculture, education and economic development in region that most had given up on.

Follow @charitywater for updates on this and future well projects funded by the Twestival.

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