Brother Dario Laurencig, the Comboni missionary who finds water in deserted places

Brother Laurencig, 73 years old, with a specialisation in car mechanics, is ‘special’ in a thousand other things, among which his dowsing ability, which enables him to detect natural elements underground, particularly water, is outstanding.

This ability has made him well-known not only in northern Kenya, which is largely desert and has no waterways, but also in other parts of the country, and even beyond Kenya’s borders. He is often called upon to ‘look for water’ in South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. And if there is, he certainly finds it, and in the simplest way possible: with a wooden stick, usually in the shape of a ‘Y’, which is an amplifier of his body’s movements to the radiation emitted by what he is looking for. If there is water under his feet, the stick starts twirling between his two hands, and he can tell how many metres deep the precious liquid is and also how much is present. He can sense the presence of water even at a depth of 120 or 150 metres.

But Brother Dario does more than just search and find water, as an unbeatable ‘water diviner’: he also makes it gush to the surface. Among the many things he does, in fact, is drilling wells in arid and deserted places. He has dug many, particularly in schools and missions in northern Kenya, among the nomadic or semi-nomadic populations: Pokot, Turkana, Borana, Rendille... Bishops, missionaries, non-governmental organisations, local governors, and even European embassies have used him to provide water for the nomadic populations of East Africa. He has created around him a team of excellent workers, who are always on the move: everyone is looking for him, because – as it happens! – a well dug by him, topped with a nice hand pump, costs much less than an equivalent dug by other companies.

The jury (Optimistas comprometidos) of Anoche Tuve un Sueño recognised in Brother Dario not only his great sense of solidarity with those in need, but also his surprising ability to face things with cheerful and battling optimism.

Next to Brother Laurencig, pictured, is Father Obwaya Justus Oseko, a Kenyan Comboni missionary from Gucha, acting as interpreter from English into Spanish, on the evening of the award presentation last Tuesday, 7^th May. Father Obwaya is studying journalism in Madrid, while collaborating in the Comboni magazine Mundo Negro.

The magazine Anoche Tuve un Sueño writes of itself: “Anoche Tuve un Sueño was born to be a space of hope where the heroism of reason and the optimism of the will come together to organise a global civil society that demands equal rights for all, but does not forget its duties. That is why this is a magazine for people with dreams that live awake.”