I Love Lucy

What does I Love Lucy have to do with Africa and clean water?

In 2007 I made my first trip to Ghana.  Even though I thought I was well prepared for what I would experience, I was saddened by the reality  –  many villages did not have a supply of clean water for their people.  Not only was there not clean water but  many villages were located miles from any water source.  The women were responsible to provide water for the family no matter how far they had to walk or how muddy the water was.  During this trip I had the opportunity to attend two water tank dedications.  I was so moved by the celebration, accountability of the Water Committee and ability for the villages to have access to clean water.

Upon my return I began researching stories of how clean water is central to a healthy family life both physically and spiritually.  I then read Lucy Akanboguure’s story.  Lucy is a teacher from Kandiga in Ghana.  “A decade ago, I had to get up at 3am every day to collect water from a river 5 km walk away which was the main water source for many communities.  The earliest I returned was 10AM which meant I was often late for work…”  “In my community women were expected to provide water every morning for their husbands.  The lack of water often resulted in quarrels, wife beating or even divorce.  Fetching water took up most of the women’s day.  During their dark dawn journey to the river, some women were bitten by snakes others fell down from fatigue.  Girls were expected to carry water and so very few enrolled in schools.  Sanitary facilities were generally non-existent.  Diarrhea, dysentery, guinea worm and cholera were rife and often resulted in death because we didn’t have health facilities.”

WaterAid, a non profit working in Ghana, provided a borehole for the village.  Since the handpump was installed,  life in Kandiga has been changed.  “I felt so happy having water at my doorstep knowing that I was safe from water related diseases. “  Clean water in this village has certainly provided a step to community transformation.

I fell in Love with Lucy and the women in the villages.  I was then introduced to the village of Mafi-Wukpo which has a total population of 680 people including children.  Wukpo is located in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region of Ghana and is about  a 4 ½ hour drive from the nation’s capital of Accra.  The main sources of water in this village is hand dug wells.  Though there is a dam about 6 km away,  it is polluted by human activities and animals with no purification process carried out prior to the use of the water for domestic purposes.  During the dry season, November thru April, women and children wake up as early as 4:00 am to stay at the hand dug wells waiting on the well and scooping the water with  a small calabash until their bucket is full .

God provided the means for me to donate the funds  to construct a Kindergarten Classroom, Pavilion/Chapel and Rain Water Harvesting Cisterns to Heartbeat for Africa Foundation.  Not only does the village now have clean water but they have a pavilion to educate their children.  The pavilion is not only used for education but is also used for church services during the rainy season.  Two years have now passed since the dedication and I am pleased to report that the tank and pavilion continue to serve the village.  In fact, the pavilion is used as worship on Sunday, Wednesday Bible Study and Friday Fasting & Prayer nights.  On  a monthly basis it is used for Leadership Development Training and Intercessory Prayer covering all sponsors and missionaries around the world.  All to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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