Small huts dot the hillside, blending in with the dusty ground. Brown. Everything is brown--the landscape, the few trees, the dust, the people. No lush grass to tickle the dirty toes of children. no red and orange vegetables to fill their bellies. No pink and yellow flowers to make them smile.
And no clean water. Not just RUNNING water. No clean water. The jugs that have some water hold small bits of liquid as brown as the dust. Where is the source of the water? Several miles away, down a long trail, there's a small stagnant pool. Algae and dirt mingle, mosquitoes and flies buzz, a foul odor rises from the water. Before the rainy season this is actually a bit of a stream and much more attractive. But the dry season is long. It is heartbreaking to realize that below the surface of the ground right in their village there is water--clean, safe, uncontaminated water. It is out of their reach, though, because they cannot drill a well. What is flat-out depressing is that into this scum laden water go the buckets and jugs that service the village. Women and children go daily for the cooking and drinking water they just have to have to live. But it's a Trojan horse--death is also in the water they carry to live. Everyone drinks it, most of them get sick from it, and some of them die. They are carriers of parasites and bacteria. They are walking petri dishes for disease. The village is quiet, solemn. What village is this? The number is countless.
There's another village. The brown huts with thatched roofs look the same. the sky looks the same. The hot and merciless sun beats on their shoulders the same. But there's color here. Red and green vegetables growing. There is laughter here. Children are running. Babies are healthy. Women are cooking, men are working. And in the jugs and buckets there is plenty of water. Clear, sparkling clean water like flowed from the faucet at home this morning. The water isn't all that is clear. The DIFFERENCE is clear. Something is very different in this village.
The difference-maker stands in the middle of the village. Shiny and blue, it's about four feet high on a concrete platform. It's the miracle-maker for the village, their clean water well. What village is this? This is a village where a "borehole" was built by Clear Blue and it's partners, who carry with love and compassion the needs and the despair of these friends without water. The water has begun a transformation process that God will complete.
There are many more villages that need transformation and change. Clean water changes everything. Will you help us?
