living water wells - africa
Last Sip from the Watering Hole
CBN - Operation Blessing Nigeria
- Getting a sip from the stream
- Tatara Students get fresh water
- Fresh Water - What a blessing!
- Kaduna students enjoy new well
CBN.com – NIGERIA - One open well was the sole source of water for the school children of Charles Osueke Shepherd Model School in Gumel, Kaduna (north central Nigeria). The neighboring gas station’s underground storage tanks began to leak gasoline, which seeped into their well water.
“We noticed that the water in the well smelt of petrol and quickly stopped the students from fetching the contaminated water for drinking”, said Rev. Victor Ategwu, the school administrator.
Unfortunately, the school children had no fresh water to drink. Very few students could afford to buy bottled water. Most of the students were from poor homes and often walked many miles after school to work on family farms. They often went home thirsty.
Help came their way when their plight was brought to Operation Blessing Nigeria’s attention. They dug a fresh water well for the school and the students now have reason to smile!
“The students are really happy that you responded to their cries for help. We are really grateful to you for helping our school community,” said the school administrator amidst cheers and laughter as fresh water flowed from the new well during its dedication.
Another school, several hundred miles away, also had water problems. Tatara Government Secondary School, in Nasarawa (north central Nigeria), had wells that had dried up entirely.
“We had a well that dried up and though we tried to reactivate it, we could not get any water from it,” said the school principal, Mr. Bala.
The small school of about 450 students has a stream nearby that some students used for water out of desperation. Cows and other livestock drink from this stream as well.
“The stream we usually fetch water from is far and makes us come late for class,” said Bako, one of the students. “The water is not safe for drinking because cows also drink from it. We can only use it to bathe and wash our clothes.”
The only other solution for the children was to buy bottled water from vendors across a busy highway from the school. The children were at risk of being hit by speeding vehicles and often charged exorbitant prices for small bottles of water.
Now, courtesy of Operation Blessing Nigeria, the students no longer face these challenges as fresh water has been provided for them. Director of Operations, CBN WorldReach, Mr. Kim Mitchell dedicated the Living Water Well at the school and said, “I pray this well will be a blessing to you and to future generations as well.”
Thanks to those who support CBN, it will indeed be a lasting legacy for generations to come! God has provided water to drink and His Living Water of the gospel of Christ for these two schools and many others.
For more stories like this one, sign up to receive the WorldReach Newsletter from CBN.com in your email .
