Ria O'Brien (now Edens) served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali from 2003 to 2005 in the water and sanitation sector. She did her training near Bamako, Mali, where she learned French and the Bamanankan tribal dialect. O'Brien lived in a Bamanan village with a host family and surveyed the needs of the village before starting her project. After a dialogue with the villagers, they decided on building a new well near the school. O'Brien recounts the building of a device used to lower her down into existing wells so she could assess soil composition and water levels. During this process, she began seeking funding for the well and training the villagers to build it. Interviewed and recorded by Ivan Browning, February 23, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).