Living Water
New Well Eases Sujatha's Burdens
- Sujatha with her daughter
- A new water well!
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CBN.com – Sujatha was born in a community which is gender biased. She grew up questioning and enduring the apathy displayed towards her for being a woman. When she was barely a teenager, her parents arranged a marriage for her.
Sujatha’s husband works in a kitchen and provides the family’s only source of income. They live in Ranga Reddy District in a settlement for people from Banjara tribe. It is an underdeveloped colony without drinking water and drainage facilities.
People living there depend on a neighboring colony 1 km away for drinking water. A mobile tanker would come to their neighboring colony twice a week, and these Banjaras would walk all the way to fetch water. The women in the family had to make at least 10 trips to fetch enough water to last them until the tanker comes again. They would store the water at home in cement tanks.
Sujatha’s husband used to help her fetch water on the days he was at home, but after Sujatha conceived her husband’s attitude towards her changed. He helped her less in the household chores. She understood his behavior; it was because she gave birth to a girl. Although she was hurt, she endured it.
Sujatha became pregnant again, and her husband and her in-laws showed signs that they would not tolerate it if she had another girl. She agonized over her unborn child’s plight. When she gave birth to a girl again, her husband and her in-laws told her that they would not accept the baby.
She was abused by her husband. No one helped her with the chores. She had to do all the work by herself. She would dread the morning when she had to go to fetch water for her family. She needed to make 10 trips to fetch the sufficient quantity of water, and it would keep her away from home for at least four hours.
When Operation Blessing India drilled a well in her colony, her joy was immeasurable. At the time of dedicating the well, she shared her gratitude with OB and CBN.
She said, “I am very happy to have this new bore well in our colony, which has relieved me of my tensions. I felt insecure as I left my children at home and went to fetch water. I feared the worst would happen. Now with this bore well I need not worry about fetching water. I can fetch water whenever I need it and can take care of my children. Thank you, OBI.”
Although years of prejudice cannot be erased with a single water well, CBN and Operation Blessing can lessen the daily burdens of precious ones like Sujatha and assure them of their value to others and to God. Prayer and practical compassion can make a difference today and in generations to come.
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