The beginning of the year at Muketuri Mission is marked by the driest month of the year, which is actually the ideal time for excavating and drilling wells in the Wuchale Woreda region of Ethiopia which has been declared a “food-insecure zone”.
For us missionaries, while being able to bring water to these communities is a source of joy and a sign of hope, for the beneficiary families, it is a drastic turning point in their lives – a stark “before” and “after”!
Alemu, an elderly man of 70 years, would stand watching us everyday that we visited his village of Lego: from the moment we marked the water source with a water diviner, to the arrival of the drilling machine, and the start of the drilling works.
I ambled over to greet him, and he said that throughout his life, he has seen people passing through, promising to bring water to his village, but they never returned. Now, it seems that this will finally be fulfilled.
When we reached the aquifer and saw the first burst of water, I looked for Alemu. He was deeply moved; he gave me a strong hug and said: “Now I can die. God allowed me to live long enough for my eyes to see water in the village. Now I know that my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and everyone in this village – who are family to me – will live a new life with clean water available. It is the start of a new stage.”
In Lego, women and children used to walk two hours to collect water from a contaminated water source or three hours for clean water.
This is just one testimony from among many of people who benefited from the water wells drilled this year. Our profound gratitude goes to all who had a hand in making this life-changing shift possible.
Blanca Beltrán, MCSPA
Muketuri Mission [Ethiopia]
