Abandoning all other activities, Elizabeth left her village of Loukintowin to search for water. Her only chance of finding water was the nearby village five kilometers away.
“Water is life. Whatever activity we might do, we cannot do it without water.”
This treacherous journey cost villagers a lot. A loss of income for farmers as they couldn’t work on their farms. A loss of an education as children often missed school. A loss of quality time spent with their families as the mothers were away for long hours.
It even had the potential to cost someone their life. Mokpa, the nearby village, would not allow Elizabeth to fill her jerry can until their own villagers were finished filling their pails. At times, this meant that Elizabeth spent the whole night waiting and returning home in the dark at 2 am, risking her safety on her commute.
But Global Aid Network (GAiN) shared an opportunity with Elizabeth and others that would bring an end to this harsh reality.
Four deep-capped water wells were provided thru Global Aid Network (GAiN) to the Logozohe district in Benin, which included Elizabeth’s village.
Justice was brought to their water crisis. Clean and safe water was now accessible in each of their villages. “These water wells brought a lot of welfare and life to our community! Now we are in good health,” share villagers. And today, Elizabeth is the president of the district’s women’s group.
“Now it is possible for us to do our own activities and make a living,” comments Elizabeth. “I have a business and sell things like cassava flour and charcoal.”
Through a partnership with the JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy, 400 villagers also had the opportunity to hear about the Living Water for the first time. As a result, 122 people made a decision to follow Jesus, and 45 people are now being discipled.
“The local church has been hugely impacted,” states Elizabeth. “As a result of the wells, we’ve been able to share God’s love to many people in their households. That’s why everytime I go to the water well, I praise God for providing for our needs.”
Elizabeth’s journey for clean water is not uncommon. Even in her excitement, she shares the pain of knowing that a nearby village has no safe water for their hospital. And how a river used as a water source for several villages has now run dry.
There’s still a desperate need and so much is lost in the pursuit of water, which quite often isn’t even safe water to use.
All of this can change! You can help give back what villagers have lost.
According to the World Health Organization, a child dies from a preventable disease associated with lack of clean water every 20 seconds.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! Often, just 80 meters below their feet are aquifers of pure, disease-free drinking water. By providing one deep-water well, we can help to break the cycle of disease and death and transform communities for a lifetime.
With your involvement, Global Aid Network (GAiN) is able to provide resources for the survival and wellbeing of people like Elizabeth to gain access to safe water for the first time.
Global Aid Network (GAiN) is a worldwide humanitarian relief and development organization dedicated to bringing hope and tangible help to the poor and the suffering. Our mission is to demonstrate the love of God, in word and deed, to hurting and needy people around the world through relief and development projects. Learn how you can help us here.
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