Safe Water: When Dreams Become Reality
August 8, 2013
WMI and community members of Chapulapula work together to construct a new tapstand.
Water Missions International worked with the community of Chapulapula to change their water reality—and life has completely transformed there. One of the community’s Safe Water Committee members happily proclaimed, “This is the greatest development in our community.”
The community of Chapulapula celebrates the opening of their new safe water system.
A team from Water Missions International Malawi installed a tap system to distributed filtered water at five different places within the village, eliminating the need to walk miles away into the distant hills for every bucket of water. In addition to installing the tap stands and treatment system, the WMI Malawi team instructed community members on WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) practices, such as the proper way to wash hands. One women explained, “Because of WMI’s lessons and the gift of safe water, now people are bathing, washing clothes, buying good safe water storage containers, following good steps of hand washing, and other good sanitation and hygiene practices.”
The combination of safe water access and health and hygiene practices has completely transformed life in Chapulapula. “There is a total reduction of water related diseases in our community,” the village headman explained with happiness. “This is because of the availability of safe water provided by WMI.”
Instead of walking miles away to fetch water, young girls can now spend more time in school.
The community of Chapulapula also values the impact of the Living Water message as much as the impact of safe water. “The water system has brought change to our community,” the village headman said. “We believe God has used Water Missions to reach us with the gospel of Jesus Christ as more are still coming [to give their lives to Christ].”
Throughout the community, there has been a dramatic spiritual change. All ages have gathered together to watch the Jesus film, and now the community boasts Sunday school classes for both adults and children. But this spiritual change also holds the promise of a brighter socioeconomic future. The missionaries who have been working with the community are preparing to start an adult literacy school in reaction to the overwhelming desire of community members to learn to read the Bible so that they can better understand the word of God.
Now the children of Chapulapula can live free from crippling diseases like diarrhea.
For many communities around the world, safe water and the transformation it can create still remains a dream. Millions around the world still wait in hope for a way to break free from waterborne illness so that they too can invest their time in bettering their lives, families and communities. We at WMI feel honored to have taken part in making the dream of Chapulapula a reality, and we hope to do more for other communities like theirs.
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