There are 2 water access points now at Kind Hearts care-point in Ethiopia - one in the nearest village that serves 16,000-20,000 people, and one at the care-point for the staff and kids! For the village, a ramshackle neighborhood of tin and mud homes, it means that family members no longer walk 2-3 hours a day to carry water home. (This responsibility usually falls to the young girls of a family - which means they are not in school.) Did you know that a typical yellow jug full of water weighs 40 pounds when full!?!?!
For Kind Hearts, it means easy and convenient access to clean water right at the care-point! That alone can increase attendance, especially among young girls! With 195 kids now attending Kind Hearts, the kids have clean drinking water, clean water for cooking, clean water for hand-washing (which means less illness and better hygiene!) and soon, water for a shower and toilet facility! If you would like to make a donation toward the new classrooms and bathroom facility, please click to this link ... http://donate.hopechest.org/goto/karen
And on especially hot days ... it means the kids can take an extra break for a drink of water and a fun dunk of the head under a refreshing stream of cold water!
During our time at Kind Hearts as we taught in the classrooms with the kids, I noticed a visitor who approached from the direction of the village water-point. He spoke quietly with the staff and then sat in the shade on a bench and watched the "happenings" at the care-point.
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As I walked by, the director gestured for me and introduced us. I didn't catch his name - but he grasped both of my hands and spoke in rapid Amharic as a translator explained that he is 98 years old and was born and raised in the neighborhood with the new water-point.
He wanted to sit for a moment in the shade of the care-point to watch a schoolyard full of healthy, clean children learn their school lessons and wanted everyone who had made the well possible to know how much it has changed their lives. So as I promised him I would ... I am relaying to YOU (to everyone who donated funds, helped spread the word, and prayed for this project) how thankful and appreciative the village and the care-point are for the water! IT HAS BEEN A LIFE-CHANGER!!
1 comment:
This makes my heart so incredibly happy! And, how amazing it must be for a man of his age to see such awesome changes happening in his community. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Means so much to see the end result after seeing it in process when we visited in March.
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