Clean water for God's thirsty children
Water Women Provide Clean Water In Kenya
Fr. David Morman stands with the Kenyan Water Woman who suggested using water storage tanks to reduce the number of trips to water sources.
During their training, the new Kenyan Water Women personalize their buckets.
And through funding from a Rotary Club in North Dakota, water storage tanks mean fewer trips to the water source

For more than 30 years, the Diocese of Bismarck has been sending its members to work with the people of Kenya. Priests, deacons, seminarians, and lay missionaries have all taken part in providing educational and health assistance, especially to orphans whose parents have died from HIV/AIDS.
 
“It extends back to Bishop John Kinney,” said Fr. David Morman, who has now been the Administrator of the mission in Kenya since 2017. “He determined that it should be part of our Diocesan outreach. He was able to develop a relationship with a Bishop here in Kenya, and the people of the Bismarck Diocese have been very generous in supporting it over the years.
 
“Our main focus is an orphan education program. Currently we have 465 orphans in primary and secondary schools, and 25 in post-secondary programs.”
 
Supporters of Water With Blessings know that children in many areas of the developing world suffer from water-borne illnesses. Those in Kenya are no different. Two of Fr. David’s friends read about Water With Blessings in a Catholic periodical, and clipped the article.
“They asked me if the mission would be interested in working with Water With Blessings,” Fr. David said. “We contacted the Diocesan Director of Missions, then got in touch with Sr. Larraine. My friends spoke with her, and learned how the process works. Then Sr. Larraine put us in touch with Sr. Pauline Kariuki, a Franciscan in Kisumu, Kenya, who works with Water With Blessings.

“Officially, we started in October 2019. We hired Lilian Kwamboka and trained her using the help of Sr. Pauline and the information and materials from Water With Blessings. We now have 175 Water Women in our area.”

The Travel restrictions over the past year have slowed the progress.
 
“The Covid pandemic really affected us,” Fr. David said. “Visitors from the US have been the ones bringing us the filters, and we had lined up three different groups of people for 2020. That would have meant another 200 filters.”

Fr. David sees first-hand the value of the Water With Blessings system.

“I never tire of working with Lilian and Water With Blessings,” he said. “When the clean water comes pouring through the filter, it’s always exciting and amazing for me. I’m just a driver and go-fer on those days, so I’m in the background. But it’s wonderful to witness.
 
“The other thing is: ‘Thank you…Thank you…Thank you.’ Those words are heard over and over again. To realize how many people here and around the world do not have access to clean water. That’s the main part of the inspiration for Water With Blessings, and the main part of its very goodness.”

For the rest of this story of a great partnership, including the introduction of water tanks, please follow the link below...
It takes a united Community in Mission to provide clean water for God's thirsty children...

From those who pack and ship the filters...to those who carry materials to the training sites...to our Country Teams who provide the training...to the Water Women themselves...

Everyone performs a critically important role in creating our success. And because of our generous, committed Community, hundreds of thousands of children are now drinking clean water in places like Kenya, hurricane-stricken Honduras, politically-torn Haiti, and other countries around the world.

Every week, new Water Women receive the equipment and training to provide clean water to their own and three other families.

But this only happens because generous people like you step into your role week after week. Please consider helping us once again. Remember, with an investment of only $75, 20 people or more will be free of water-borne parasites and illnesses.

Thank you for investing in Water With Blessings.
A reminder: The Kroger Community Rewards Program is an easy way to equip and train new Water Women

(And you don't have to give up your gas points!)

If you haven’t done so already, please consider designating Water With Blessings as your beneficiary in the Kroger Community Rewards Program. As we said last week, shoppers have underwritten at least one new Water Woman over the past few months. We would love to see that number increase over the course of 2021.

It's easy. Here's what you need to do: 

  • Open: https://www.kroger.com/i/community/community-rewards
  • If you don’t have an account, grab your Kroger Plus card (you’ll need the barcode to register your Digital Kroger account), click “Create an Account;” 
  • If you have an Digital Kroger account, click “Sign in;” click “Community Rewards” option under My Account; then click on “Enroll Now” under the Kroger Community Rewards Page
  • Search for Water With Blessings either by name or PT288, and click “Enroll”
  • Once setup is complete, you’ll see Water With Blessings on your account summary page beneath “Community Rewards”

Thank you in advance for making Water With Blessings you shopping partner.
Thank you for spreading the good news.

Once again, we had more people subscribe to our newsletter last week. We welcome these new members of the Water With Blessings community for mission, some of whom have already helped underwrite the costs of training and equipping new Water Women.

We thank you once again for sending this newsletter to your family and friends and building our Community for Mission.

And you can make a long-term impact by clicking the link below to
become a sustaining donor to Water With Blessings.

By giving $12.50 each month, you can sponsor two new Water Women each year.
We'll be sure to send you information on seeing where your Water Women live
and the impact your gift is making.
Fr. David Morman watches as a fellow Rotarian dishes out spaghetti at a fund raiser supporting the local high school music department.
Why We Support
Providing Clean Water For God’s Thirsty Children
Jen Jahner
President
Bowman (ND) Rotary Club

Rotary International is an international service organization, bringing together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace globally, locally, and among themselves.

Along with a focus on eradicating polio around the world, they also work to help mothers and children, especially in the areas of hygiene and health. That makes providing clean water a natural fit.

So when Fr. David Morman asked the club to provide water storage tanks for the Water Women in Kenya, the club members were happy to help.
“Fr. David was the priest here in Bowman for many years, and is a Rotarian of our Club,” said Jen Jahner, President of the Rotary Club of Bowman. “After he left for his mission work, he stayed in touch with us. It's only fitting that we support something so near and dear to his heart. He sent us the statistics and information, and everyone was on board. It was really a no-brainer for us.

“Fighting disease, clean water, improved hygiene, those are part of what Rotary does. It seemed fitting to support him and his mission by helping with this project.”
On This Week’s Coffee Chat, We Learn More About The Efforts In Kenya
Our international travels continue this week on Coffee Chat, when we will hear more about the great work being accomplished in Kenya by representatives of the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota. Fr. David Morman is the latest in a line of Bismarck priests, deacons, seminarians, and lay people who have worked over the years to provide education and healthcare to orphans whose parents have died of AIDS.

We hope to connect with Fr. David and Lilian Kwamboka, who trains the new Water Women.

So grab a cup of your favorite (daytime) beverage, and please join us this coming Friday, January 29, at Noon Eastern Time. It will continue our growing tradition: prayer, fellowship, and just a few laughs short of general mayhem. Please join in. You’ll be glad you did.
These Water Women in Kenya, and one of their sons, stand with two of the water storage tanks provided by the Rotary Club of Bowman, North Dakota. Our international Community for Mission continues to grow each week. Thank you for doing your part to provide clean water for God’s thirsty children.

With These Colorful Covers, the Water Filters Reflect the Joyful Spirit of Our Water Women

As Fr. David Morman told us from Kenya this week, there is a special excitement when the clean water comes through these filters for the first time. And along with that comes the joy-filled chorus of ‘thank yous’ to those who support Water With Blessings.

Many of you have responded to our plea for more of these filter socks. 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.

The Water Women love these colorful covers, and we have always appreciated the creativity of our Water With Blessings crafting community. To find out how to create 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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