Clean water for God's thirsty children

Water With Blessings Brings Clean Water and Hope to the Poor in Zambia's Copper Belt
Fr. Douglas Ogato looks on as a new Water Woman samples the clean water.
Sr. Theresa Konsolo separates the equipment in preparation for training.
Once a thriving mining area, the Copper Belt now is an impoverished region.
The region in the north-central section of Zambia is known as the Copper Belt, because for many decades it produced mass quantities of minerals. As in many places in the developing world, those resources benefited others. Now in many areas the mines are tapped out and closed, leaving behind the retired, the under-employed, the young – and dirty water.

Fr. Douglas Ogato came to Zambia from Kenya in 2016 to serve the people in this area. While still in Kenya, he met missionaries from the Diocese of Bismarck (ND) who were helping the vulnerable populations, and cooperating with Water With Blessings to fight water-borne illnesses.

“They stirred in my heart passion for missionary life, for they came from far away in Bismarck and lived in the middle of our village and shared our way of life, putting the Gospel into practice,” Fr. Douglas said. “And this is exactly what I am trying to do now.

“In our Water With Blessings program, we will work towards enabling children to have access to clean and safe water. For they are saying as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, ‘Give us a drink.’ And not just any drink, but clean drinking water.”
The water program is just beginning. Sr. Theresa Konsolo was assigned by her community to serve in the area after a request for assistance from Fr. Douglas. A social worker by profession, her background and skills will help the effort achieve its targets and help more people.

“The area is very poor and water is scarce,” Sr. Theresa said. “Many people have diseases such as diarrhea because of the dirty water. The clean drinking water will help the people in our parish first as the program begins. But eventually it will go beyond the Catholic community and help our neighbors regardless of their faith.”

They plan to have 150 Water Women equipped and trained by the end of April. The plan is for those to help form a team who will train others. But funding is the challenge.

“The average weekly Sunday collections ranges between 400 and 500 Zambian Kwacha (about 23 USD),” Fr. Douglas said. “This is why we are very grateful for any help that we can receive.”


To help this important project, please click on the button below. We also have a 'text to give option: Water4Zambia to 71777

Monday, March 8, is
International Women’s Day

Water With Blessings is founded on a simple concept: a filter, a bucket, and a woman dedicated to providing clean water to her own and three other families.

Because of your support, there are now more than 100,000 Water Women around the world. On this International Women’s Day, let us all remember to pray for them as they bring the gift of life.

Let us also pray for those women who are not so fortunate, those who worry and cry for their children, or are themselves the victims of hatred, violence, and the other dangers of our world. May God bless, protect, and comfort them.
Save The Date: World Water Day is March 22,
As is Our Grand Opening Celebration

We’re just two weeks away from our Grand Opening, and when better to celebrate this important occasion than World Water Day.
 
All are welcome on Monday, March 22, but you need to make a reservation if you would like to take the grand tour of our new offices and warehouse. The events will also be live-streamed for those who cannot attend. There will be a ribbon-cutting (with the Mayor of Jeffersontown doing the honors), and our new sign will be unveiled at Noon.
 
And there will be lots of other things happening. We will have food and ice cream for purchase, and for those who want the best water in the world, we will be using the Sawyer PointONE filter to clean up a bucket filled from Floyd’s Fork. Also, for a donation, you can get your own WWB mask and at the same time send one to a country team member or Water Woman.
 
Please plan to join our celebration. And remember, to make a reservation for the tour contact debbie@waterwithblessings.org
We’re Makin’ Our Move For Hope in 2021!

Did you know that Hope is contagious?

We have spent a year trying to stop one particular sort of spread. And it appears that we are finally succeeding in our fight against the coronavirus.

But good things can spread too. Our fight against water-borne illnesses and parasites is succeeding in communities across the globe as more and more Water Women receive the training and equipment to provide clean water to God’s thirsty children.

And from person to person, gift to gift, the campaign to purchase our new office and warehouse space is spreading. Hope, along with your Faith in God and the gifts of Love you share with the poor around the world, is contagious. God is blessing us every day.

If you feel that sensation of Hope coming over you, please click the button below. Or you can contact Rebecca Stutsman, our Chief Development Officer, at rebecca@waterwithblessings.org, or at 502.939.7312.
We’re Going to Zambia on
This Week’s Coffee Chat

It’s exciting to be part of a new effort to bring clean water to God’s thirsty children. And this week we will meet Fr. Douglas Ogato and Sr. Theresa Konsolo (she’s the one crouching to the right of the new bucket and Sawyer PointONE filter), who are slowly building what we’re sure is going to be a great success. We will hear about their plans, and the translation of our training materials into another language: Bemba.

Zambia is a beautiful country, and the people are filled with God’s joy. We know you will enjoy the journey.

Please join us this coming Friday, March 12, at Noon eastern time. In addition to hearing from our guests, we will have the usual prayer, sharing, and general good time we always have together. See You There!
We have the crafters and the pattern, but we're running out of yarn...

Do you have a box or basket where you keep the odds and ends from your crafting? Is it getting a little full? Well then, we have a solution for you.

Please consider sending as much as you can to us, or dropping it by our new office (and if you call ahead, we can give you a safe, socially-distanced grand tour).

It seems that our crafters are so hard at work making scores of filter socks from their scraps and extras, they are now running out of all their yarn.

And right now we really need more of those colorful covers for the filters. If you can, please pass the pattern around to other crafters you may know. Because of the growing need, especially for our emergency work in Honduras and Haiti, right now we need as many as we can get.

We appreciate our Water With Blessings crafting community. To find out how to join them, please click on the button below. Thank you again for your help.
We believe every child should be drinking clean water. Are you with us?
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