Chibanga now has fresh water for the first time in their history! 

A WOW supporter named Grace has generously donated the funds for this well and shares that all who drink from this well do so "by the grace of God".  Pastor Eric Mwambelo, who heads up Kabwe Home Based Care a WOW/Visionledd strategic partner, is dedicated to ministering to orphans and widows and has overseen the installation of this well over the past few months.  Below he has shared some moving stories about the impact that fresh water has on a community.

AFRICAN WOMEN WILL NOT TELL YOU EVERYTHING

When you first meet African women they will not tell you everything they have passed through, instead they will sing songs of jubilation and wear big smiles, proudly welcoming you to their village and homes. Their hands will brush off the dust on their seats as they excitedly invite you to sit and stay. You do not immediately see the difficulties they have suffered over the years due to lack of clean drinking water in their villages. That is why it is the women who are more grateful than the men because they clearly understand the importance of the well in their village.

Enelesi is a village headwoman and she was born and raised in Chilabula village. This is want she had to say, "It is the first time ever since our ancestors settled here to have a borehole. As a village headwoman and indeed on behalf of my subjects I would like to thank the family who donated funds to sink this borehole in our village through WOW/Visionledd although we do not know them. There are so many villages in Zambia indire need of clean water but for some reason not known to us our village was chosen, we can say we see the hand of God in all this. Women in my village used to suffer a lot but with the drilling of this borehole, our burden will be eased. Again, the women suffer a lot when children get sick with diarrhea after drinking contaminated water from the streams or shallow wells. They have to walk 10 to 15 kilometers with their sick children on the backs to the nearest health centre. With this borehole water borne diseases will reduce drastically and this will give women more time to work in their fields.

We have a group of women doing agriculture and now with this borehole they will grow vegetables to feed their families. At the moment we have gardens along the streams and vegetables get submerged in the rainy season but now we can grow these vegetables all year round.

The village of Chibanga is praising God for fresh water.  On May 17, 2008 a deep borehole was dug and fresh water was reached for the first time.  Below is a quick report from the drilling company on the borehole's specifics.  The hand pump is being constructed now and a full report will follow in the next few weeks.  We are excited to soon show you the first person to take a drink from this wonderful gift of life saving water.  Thank you to the dear family who has contributed funding for this dream to come true in Chibanga! 

Each December WOW runs a Christmas Campaign, called WOW Children's Christmas, within North American churches to raise funds in order to provide orphaned and vulnerable children within WOW communities with school supplies, a hot meal and a handmade school uniform.  A wonderful party takes place where the story of Christ's birth is told and about His love for each and every child and adult.  Many games and songs and poems are prepared for this big celebration in each community.  Below is a report from the Chibanga community:

CHIBANGA COMMUNITY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PARTY

It all started with a story about the Christmas party. The parents, guardians and children thought it was not going to take place because so many donors have come and given them promissory notes that never materialized. Fortunately, on the agreed date, the children and the parents in one of the villages called Chibanga Village saw the vehicles approaching their village. Some of the villagers (children and parents) were still in their fields working, because they had doubts and did not believe that the party was going to take place. After one hour, they heard of the news and they came running to the party. The place was filled with joy because apart from the poems and other activities prepared by the children. Parents also did prepare something for the visitors. The Youths from the nearby villages also came to compete in football with the Chibanga lads. The most exciting part was when the duna (Headwoman) for the village was in action playing netball with the other youths and women. At the end of the day, the meeting was attended by over 300 people, which included OVC (orphaned and vulnerable children) from the community school, parents, women in the agricultural group, and residents of the villagers.

POEMS

It was an exciting day and kids gave poems. The first one to give was Sylvester 11 years old.

TITLE: WE ARE CRYING-Sylvester

We are crying, we are your children. Look at us, we need your help. Some of our parents are gone because of AIDS. Our guardians and our brothers and sisters are gone because of AIDS. Look at us for education. Some are gone because of AIDS.

TITLE: EDUCATION -Taonga

Education, education. Father, mother, do not let me start selling vegetables. Take me to school. I need to be educated and I want to be educated. Don’t you know that am the future leader of Zambia?   I will become the President of Zambia and you will be calling me Mr President. Elders, elders, mother Zambia educate me. I need your support, protect my right. Thank you.

TITLE: HUNGER- Annet

Hunger, hunger, go and sell groundnuts. If you don’t sell groundnuts we shall have no food in this house. I asked my uncle, is it because I am an orphan? I was refused for my education. My uncle never understood me and I went hungry for days. Hunger drove me on the street. I stopped school because of hunger; I was beaten on the street because of hunger. I started begging on the street because of hunger. Parents died poor.  Poverty you are a root cause of hunger. My parents were retrenched without any benefits. Hunger, hunger, hunger you are born out of poverty, hunger.

God has laid it upon the hearts of one dear Canadian family to bring fresh water to a rural village through WOW.  After much prayer, the village of Chibanga was selected and a survey has already been completed.  Below is the latest message from the drillers in Kabwe, Zambia.

We wish to apologize for the delay in drilling the borehole in time due to unforeseen circumstances. The major constraint has been accessibility to the site. The soil on the road was too soft for the heavy trucks and we were afraid of being stuck. However, since the rains are now over, we wish to commit ourselves to drilling the borehole within seven days.  The geophysical survey (Siting) was conducted and the results were very positive for groundwater. A full report on the geophysical report will be sent to you by next week after drilling.

Praise God, the women and children in Chibanga will be relieved of hours of walking to the stream to fetch water.  This stream which is shared with cattle and other animals often dries up in the dry season and for the first time in their lives; the people of this village will have clean fresh water to drink throughout the entire year. The village will be relieved of water borne diseases such as, dysentery, cholera, and bilharzias.

Below is the picture of the school house built by the people of Chibanga because the nearest government school is 5 to 6 kms away; too far for the younger children to walk not to mention the danger for young girls to travel alone, away from the village.  Now 95 orphaned and vulnerable children attend this school that has just received a new roof by the villagers.  It is our prayer to one day build a larger, safer school for these children and supply a trained school teacher.  The new well will be situated near the school.