Thursday, June 12, 2008

Water to Karari


Having access to water is a right, not a privilege.
How many times a day do we go to our sink or water bottle or refrigerator to have a drink of water?
Can you imagine not having the abiity to do that? How often are you dehydrated? It makes one sick and dizzy and weak.

This is the reality for much of our world. One village in particular is near and dear to one of Missio Lux, her name is Andrea Kiehle. She is working on a master's thesis and went to this far northern village of Kenya last summer. She fell in love with the people. She is now advocating to anyone who will listen to help this village get the pump replaced that broke earlier this year.


This is the story. They have a well, but the pump to it is very old and it finally died. So, what would we do? We would replace it. Well, they have no one to bring the well to them. Andrea has even contacted every organization that works to bring water to villages and has been told that no one goes that far north in Kenya.

Now the people in the village, significantly women, make a 12 mile trek to a dirty water hole that they share with animals, one being Water Buffalow, which are very dangerous. The animals use the water hole as their bathroom as well as a drinking place so even after the villagers get the water, they have to carry it back six miles and boil it before they can have a drink.

One boy was shot at the watering hole. This caused three women to miscarry because their fear and grief became too unbearable. The village has taken a huge plunge downward, all because their pump died.

What can we do as Missio Lux?
We can PRAY! God can make a way where is there is no other way to get that pump to their village.
We can donate funds to buy the new pump.
We can educate ourselves to become more aware of the vast number of people in the world whose lives would be dramatically changed by having a well in their village.
We can stop buying water bottles and use that money to donate to Water First or other organizations to get more wells in destitute places that don't yet know that water is a right, not a privilege.

2 comments:

Laura said...

Hi Aunt Tamara! I LOVE hearing about the amazing projects going on in the city of Seattle and around the world as a result of people following God's light!

While I was catching up on my blogs after the weekend I came across a "ministry" called The Work of The People. (http://theworkofthepeople.blogspot.com) . This group has shot and created GREAT short films about water projects around the world. I couldn't stop watching all these powerful clips of water changing people's lives. The mission of bringing water to Africa has been on my heart since my church participated in a thing called The Advent Conspiracy this past Christmas. Instead of giving and receiving gifts, we gave the gift of water to a small village in Kenya.

This morning I was inspired by the unity we all have in Christ to follow his mission and to bring life through simple resources like water.

I am so excited about your water project and I am definitely praying for more vision and hope for the people Missio Lux works with and serves! Watch some of the videos on that blog and see if any of them are useful for calling others into the project.

The Missio Lux blog is a blessing to my life!

-Laura

Tamara Buchan said...

HI Laura,

I tried to call you on your birthday, but I don't have your cell phone #, just know that I sang Happy Birthday to you in my mind.

I am excited about water, it is right, not a privilege. I will check out the blog. Keep reading and leaving comments!