In May of 2019, I opted to skip walking across a stage for graduation, and flew 7000 miles to rural Tanzania with a water well driller from my hometown, Ken Wood. I had met Ken 4 years earlier at a rotary event I was presenting at- his presentation on water well drilling in Ghana and Tanzania followed my powerpoint on a small medical project I was organizing in Peru at the time. Ken spoke almost casually about his experiences drilling over 1000 wells in African villages and being recognized as an honorary Ghanian chief.

Throughout the month-long trip capturing photo/video content in southern Tanzania, I gradually uncovered how remarkable Ken’s story was. I watched a 75-year old man, who’d had open heart surgery twice, drill 3-4 wells a day in grueling heat, through swarms of killer bees, all on a diet of canned tuna and Dunkin coffee that’d he’d packed from the Denton Walmart. I left the trip craving the opportunity to pay tribute to his generosity and dedication.

This is my first short-form documentary (directed, filmed, edited and narrated by myself) using the footage I captured in my trip to Tanzania, and a subsequent trip to Ghana. The film aims to tell Ken’s, and his co-founder David’s, story of founding Lifetime Wells International, a water charity based in my small hometown of Denton, MD that has brought clean water to over 1 million people in Ghana and Tanzania.

Please check out their website at lifetimewellsinternational.org