Volunteers move rocks and stumps.

We certainly had our doubts about arranging for groups to dig ditches all week.  We worried about the weather; we worried about whiners; we worried about having an alternative project; we worried about them getting the chance to build relationships with folks in the community.

What a waste of time to worry!

The kids had to be forced off the mountain in the rain by the site supervisor and the engineer in charge — they wanted to finish the job.  People in the community and people in the Wastewater Treatment Coalition took time to visit with them and thank them for what they were doing to make a difference.  No one whined that the job was too much.  (That alone is a miracle in itself!)

Most of the volunteers who come to West Virginia are from privileged backgrounds.  It was inconceivable to them that people living in the United States did not have wastewater treatment and they found it appalling that expelling sewage into the rivers and streams was acceptable practice in so many places.  It was equally inconceivable to many that funding to help communities obtain wastewater treatment was so difficult to obtain. 

When I asked one student what he was going to tell people back home that he did on his spring break, he very seriously said, “I helped a community clean up their creek.  And I hope that it will inspire the communities down stream to do the same thing.”  Another student said she felt like she was really doing something that made a difference to a whole community.

I asked one group why in the world would a Christian work camp get involved in digging ditches for wastewater treatment.  Their responses were enthusiastic, and the gist of them was because God wants us to take care of the earth! 

Notre Dame students came to a Wastewater Treatment Coalition meeting held in Welch during the week that they visited.  There they met with several of the members and got the opportunity to talk with people who live in the county, to ask questions and to get a lot of thanks for what they were doing to help implement the project.  

Inspired by the coalition and concerned about the future of the project, the students discussed a project of their own to help — a plan to raise funds to set up a scholarship for families who cannot afford the connection fee to the new system.  The scholarship will be given to a fiduciary agent for the coalition to manage. 

Our blessing is the students who think beyond their own work efforts for the week and into the future of a community that can be the front runner of the implemented plan.