End-of-summer greetings to all! We are deep in the well building process for the nine wells that were donated this year, and that is very exciting. The rainy season is coming soon enough, and these wells must get completed before then. We are making good progress, but, what has surfaced is a need for four more wells, which we currently have no source of funds to build. This has just come up and is outside of our expected budget for 2022. The timing is difficult also, since we are focusing on 2023 operating requirements as we head into the end of the year.
These wells are for four elderly widows whose wells have collapsed. These ambuyas (elder women) are in their 70’s. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated by all. The Shona people have a great reverence for their elderly and bringing water to these women would be a blessing for everyone…a very genuine way of honoring these women in their lives.
Let’s look at two of these women’s lives more closely. First is Loice Mhike, who is 76 years old and living in Muriritirwa village. Her children are away and can hardly fend for themselves. Originally built with bricks, her well collapsed in 2020. Loice has covered her well with all sorts of logs, so that no person or animal will fall in, and also to keep some of the farm-life debris out. Her kale-type of plants are there in the background, which is a beautiful sight.
You can see from the close-up, that the walls of the well are further giving way with exposed roots showing. We can hear her explaining to Muda what has happened in the following video.
This is Erita Dzukwa who is 74 years old. All of her children have passed on and she is looking after her grandchildren, which is no small matter. She is part of Magaya village, and lives near Isaac, our Building and Security manager. Her well is just an open one and no bricks were ever used, also collapsing around 2020 due to the heavy rains. She has incorporated every type of scrap metal possible to create a covering for the well hole. We can see a large area on the front corner for contaminated ground water to enter, as well as objects of various sorts.
The resourcefulness of people in hardship is really touching. Trying by all means to have some decent protection of their water source must feel like an uphill battle.
What they really need is a clean water well built by Nhimbe for Progress! We provide cement and bricks and labor. Normally, the family chips in on the digging of the well, by getting help from a nephew, son, grandson, etc. But, in these four cases with these elderly widows, they have no kin close by to give them a hand with the digging.
For us to hire the diggers, it would take an extra $56 for each well. That brings the total from $330 to $386. Is this something you can include in your budget or share in the cost?
Any amount will help! We must raise $1,544 to meet this goal for these ambuyas to have clean water for drinking, bathing, cleaning, and gardening. Clean water holds the potential for prosperity in all ways, yes?
Thank you for whatever you and your family can do! We here in the USA are so blessed to have clean water at our fingertips. Consider making availability of clean water a reality for one or more of these widows on the other side of the planet. Although you don’t know them, we all have the same needs . . . we all deserve the basics! Thank you for your consideration . . . you can help here, now!
Tatenda Chaizvo!