‘Jesus Wells’ highlighted on World Water Day
In many parts of the world, fresh drinking water is more valuable than oil, according to UNICEF. The shortage is fueling a deadly global health emergency, and World Water Day on March 22 highlighted the crisis. Now, a new grassroots initiative could help save thousands of lives.
GFA World, a faith-based nonprofit organization, has launched a monthlong campaign to provide 125 new “Jesus Wells” in some of the world’s thirstiest places.
It’s a huge problem. UNICEF, which stands for United Nations Children’s Fund, says 2.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.
New wells change lives
The new wells, costing around $1,600 each, could help transform the lives of more than 37,000 people facing a desperate day-to-day struggle to find clean drinking water. Since 2007, the organization and its supporters have helped install more than 40,000 freshwater wells and provided clean water to nearly 40 million people.
In a village in Asia, Dafne and her friends used to walk uphill to a shallow, muddy watering hole several times a day to collect drinking water in their pots — water that often made them sick. They had to strain out worms, insects, leeches and even frog feces. The provision of a “Jesus Well” completely changed their lives, removing a crushing burden and allowing them to focus on raising healthy children.
Dafne’s desperate search for drinking water is familiar. Every day, more than two billion people face “the cruel reality that the only drinking water they have access to may cause them to get sick and die,” said Bishop Daniel Timotheos Yohannan, president of GFA World .“Yet most deaths and illnesses could be prevented if only communities had access to safe water sources.”
“Jesus Wells,” so-called because they are inscribed with Jesus’ invitation in the gospel of John to drink of the water he gives and “never thirst again”, are maintained by local churches and last up to 20 years. They provide a reliable supply of safe drinking water that is freely available for anyone in need and act as a community hub where people gather. The wells also bring a tangible sign that life can flourish, and a reminder that Jesus’ love never runs dry.
World Water Day may be old news, but new efforts to save lives with something as simple as water, is making waves.
More information is available at www.gfaworld.org.
–Dwight Widaman
