"It was a bit of an improvised solution and unfortunately it's still leaking slightly. If only I had a proper vice then I could have threaded a piece of pipe that I could attach to the broken section, but something that is so easy to find back home can be extremely difficult here. After the hospital was attacked, both materials and tools are missing.
Last night, Mikael Mangold slept in a good tent, with access to electricity and water, in Pibor, a small town in which the majority of buildings are made of mud and straw. During his six-week tour of duty, Mikael Mangold sleeps mostly in makeshift tents out in the countryside.
He spent the last few days in the village of Gumuruk, where large numbers have gathered during the current conflict in the region. The ground is mainly heavy clay and it is difficult to find water if you drill or dig. A polluted river is the only watercourse and there is an ever-present risk of disease.
"In Gumuruk, we have pumped river water into a rubber pool where we treat the water using aluminium sulphate and chlorine. I'm helped by local personnel and my job includes teaching them how to look after the facility. I'll be returning to Gumuruk tomorrow to see how things are going."
The next project will be to supply a field hospital in Gumuruk with clean water. Mikael Mangold intends to create a filter by filling plastic tanks with sand although before he leaves Pibor this time he wants to fix the water leak at the hospital properly. He thinks he's found a way to solve it without an extension joint.
"If I dig up a slightly longer piece of the pipe, I can probably locate the main problem, which is a broken shut-off valve. I'll give it a go now."
It sounds like a heavy job in this heat. What is it that keeps him going?
"I like it when things are difficult. You get an enormous buzz from helping people to access something as crucial to life as clean water."
TEXT: MALIN AVENIUS