Planting Seeds of Hope - Day 2

A Hunger Awareness VBS

Digging Wells in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the new rush of fresh, drinkable water brings a rush of joy.

When you strike water and the well starts to work, you should hear the joy,"said David Harding, one of CBF's Global Missions field personnel who helps bring clean water to the African nation of Ethiopia.

A working well means no more trips to the muddy river to gather water and haul it home.  It means less disease.  It means more crops and less famine. It means more time with family and more opportunity for education. Water in a dry land means transformation.

Water can transform communities and also unite people.  During one trip, the Christian and Muslim communities worked together to drill a well.  When the drill bet became lodged many feet underground, both faith communities joined hands and prayed for God to intervene.

It costs Living Water Ethiopia about $2,500 to dig a well that services up to 400 people.  As more wells are established in a community, wells typically service 50 people including livestock.

If improving access to safe water for a billion people in hte world was simply a technical problem, it would have been solved long ago.  It's a behavioral problem where people need to see the connections between water and disease and to feel empowered to do something about it. - David Harding

Written by Ginger Young, this is an abstract of  the Mission emphasis story for Vacation Bible School, Planting Seeds of Hope-Day 2.