What Would You Do If Your Community Had No Water?

Imagine you lived in a community so poor that there was no water of any kind — much less running water. And no power.

The only internet is on your phone or public WiFi. Almost no one has a computer or any work.

What If You Had No Water?

There is a lake, but no way to get the water from where it is to where it is needed.

You cannot grow food or easily get water to drink or bathe in. Having no water makes like a struggle.

Charity to the Rescue

Then, a charity comes and constructs a water tank. And also, a building next to it where you can get water.

So now the community at least has water. But not everyone lives close to this water source.

Fortunately, the charity also donates six generators to pump the water from the water tank to the fields, animals, and people.

Water is pumped from the tank to another tank at the school.

And also to places like this where it was easy for many to access for their needs.

The community can grow food and raise animals to feed themselves. They are very happy.

Sad Times: One by One the Generators Fail

But generators don’t last forever. Over the next twelve years, one by one the generators break down until there are none left running.

Some are sent for repair, but never came back. The community has lost touch with the charity that originally helped them.

With no money to fix or replace the generators, so there is no water where there once was. There is only desperation.

Hand Digging a Pond

The community comes together and digs a pond by hand. It captures rain water. But then there is not enough rain.

The pond is going dry. There is very strong mud making it hard to get to what little water there is.

The plants die and the animals can’t be kept alive. The community is going hungry. What can they do?

Reaching Out for Assistance

My friend Stephen and his community don’t have to imagine this scenario. They are living it.

He contacted me hoping he could come to America to earn enough money to buy generators for his community.

First, he went to college thinking he could get a good job there. But that hasn’t happened so he thought America was the solution.

I explained that people can’t just hire you. It is a complicated process. We talk often trying to find a solution.

Could CBN Help?

First, I thought I could just call Christian Broadcasting Network. I know about Operation Blessing from their videos.

And I know one of their ministries focuses on clean water.  Just last year, they provided a community water system.

I was able to reach someone, and they gave me a phone number. But I can never get through on it.

No doubt as well-known as CBN is, there is huge demand for their assistance.

We Need Your Ideas

Six more generators would be a simple solution. And a few years ago, there was plenty of good-paying work and I could have made that happen by myself.

Work is slow now, and I am getting slower due to age. I can’t work sixteen hours a day like I once could.

So I’m asking for your ideas. For example:

• • • Work: Is there any remote work that Stephen could do for you?
    • Charity: Who else should I contact?
    • Connections: Does anyone have any connections who could assist?
    • Fundraising: Can you recommend a way to raise money to buy the generators the community needs?

I did get Stephen to open a PayPal account so he can hopefully accept money. It seemed to work fine on my end, but he sees a “suspicious activity” message.

PayPal wants a bank statement. But of course no one in his community has a bank account.

So PayPal is a dead end (unless someone knows of a solution)?

He does know someone who has successfully used World Remit to send money from the U.S. into M-Pesa Mobile Money Service.

Generator Prices

Stephen priced generators he can acquire locally. The original generators were large and high quality.

But he suggested three other brands. The Honda is most expensive at Ksh.52000 with Pacwell and Hisaki being more affordable at 46000 and 42000.

Ksh.52000 = $355.48 USD. The other prices are $314.46 and $287.11. This is less expensive than what they cost in the U.S.? I’m not sure why.

If you have any insight into that, please share.

Are Generators the Right Solution?

There are a couple of issues with generators. One is keeping them running. And they other is that they require fuel.

Maybe solar generators would be a better solution? Or a way to pump water that didn’t require generators?

I’ve recommended Charity Water over the years. Maybe they could advise? Anyone have connections there?

What Would You Do If You Had No Water?

If you lived in a community that lost your access to water, what would you do? I’ve been writing about water access since at least 2010.

I know many are struggling right now — even in the U.S. But at least most of us have running water.

Please leave comments with ideas and suggestions.