32 New wells, Clean water for 19,000 people

Back in August, 2016 the Living Water Project celebrated the great bounty received from our inaugural dinner.  On February 1 we realized the "harvest" in terms of wells and real people being impacted, as our board committed $63,600 toward 32 new wells (in Chad, Togo and Niger) in one night!  These 32 wells will bring desperately needed clean water to approximately 19,000 people.  We recognize that such nights are the result of many years of cultivating relationships, prayer, meetings, travel, fundraising and other work - and, especially, the generosity of our donors.

We also set an ambitious goal of raising $250,000 in 2017, which represents a substantial 44% increase over the $173,500 that was raised in 2016 (Note: 2016 was a record fundraising year for Living Water).  It will take hard work in order to achieve this, but we know that God will continue to bless our efforts as we seek His guidance.

Last, here are the all-time well numbers for Living Water, along with $ committed and raised:
- Total wells funded since founding:  307
- Total countries:  20* 
- Total committed to clean water:  $734,300
- Total raised/donated since inception:  $786,200

*LWP has funded wells in:  Chad, Togo, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Sudan, Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Uganda, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, India

A woman near Kelo, Chad draws clean water from a Living Water Project well for the first time - January, 2017

A woman near Kelo, Chad draws clean water from a Living Water Project well for the first time - January, 2017

Residents of Palabre village in northern Togo celebrate a new Living Water Project well.  -January, 2017

Residents of Palabre village in northern Togo celebrate a new Living Water Project well.  -January, 2017

The Living Water Project - 2015 Summary:

2015 was another wonderful year for The Living Water Project. Thank you all for your support. Please enjoy this 2015 Summary from Director of Operations, Jon Lee.

Hello!
I ended my Year in Review for 2014 by saying, “I'm excited to think about what might be on a similar e-mail at the end of 2015.”  Well, there was a lot to be excited about in 2015, so I wanted to give you a brief recap.  I hope you will take a moment and read about all that has been accomplished.

First, the big picture:  
This was TLWP’s 15th year of partnering with communities around the world to provide clean water.  As of the end of 2015, this ministry has funded a total of 232 wells/clean-water projects in 18 different countries.  I believe our founder and friend Shanon Dickerson would be very pleased. I know that his parents Bobby and Jerri are. 

And now, some numbers for 2015: 
In 2015, The Living Water Project (TLWP) funded a total of 61 new wells/clean-water projects, with a total of $127,403 committed to these projects.  The breakdown of projects by country is as follows:

Togo 40

Zambia 10

Niger 7

Guatemala 1

Dominican Republic 1

Democratic Republic of the Congo 1

Nicaragua 1

A total of $122,623 was raised by TLWP in 2015.  This number is significant because our spending had been outpacing our income by a fair amount for a while, but we just about caught up this year. I’m happy to report that the total number of projects, the dollar-amount committed to projects, and the total amount raised are all single-year records!

Here are a few other highlights from 2015:

In the Spring of 2015, we had our annual in-person board meeting in Nashville, with Matt Hangen and Ray Sanders from Water4 joining us. (Please see photo below). 

Board Members Kevin Colvett and Jon Lee took a 13-day trip to Senegal and Nigerwith Jerry Atnip (Otter Creek member) and James Forelines (Executive Director of Final Command Ministries) to visit communities, listen to the people, and explore how TLWP and FCM can partner in Kingdom work together.  Jerry Atnip created a beautiful photo display from this trip, which is currently hanging in the hallways at Otter Creek Church. (Please see photo below). 

Board member Linda Zelnik and long time volunteer Jennifer Thompson co-coordinated yet another great yard sale, with almost $15,000 in sales and donations.

TLWP funded its first projects in three new countries:  Niger, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

A total of $13,675 was donated in honor of our friend Jackie England, for an upcoming project in Nicaragua that will honor her beautiful life.

Lipscomb Middle School raised $2,200 to fund a well in Niger.

Our online campaign to raise $18,000 (above what had already been committed)for Zambia wells yielded $19,227. 

Board members David Wilson and Jon Lee explored the Made In the Streets "Mountain View” property in Kenya during July 2015. The board hopes to fund a well for this property in 2016.

Board members Michael Odell, Sandra Collins, Caroline Cormack and Linda Zelnik (plus other volunteers) did an amazing job raising more than $3,000 for thePresents With a Purpose event in November.  

Those are just a few of the many acts of service and generosity that this ministry experienced last year. This was done while still being completely run by volunteers.

Thanks again for your contributions to this Kingdom work in 2015.  I am also very fortunate to work with our incredibly talented, board members whose gracious hearts match that their level of talent. 

Looking forward to a great 2016,

Jon Lee
Director of Operations
The Living Water Project

The Living Water Project Board Members at our Annual 2015 Nashville Meeting, joined by members of Water4. 

The Living Water Project Board Members at our Annual 2015 Nashville Meeting, joined by members of Water4. 

This beautiful image shows a woman in Niger enjoying fresh water from the local well. Photo by Jerry Atnip.

This beautiful image shows a woman in Niger enjoying fresh water from the local well. Photo by Jerry Atnip.

Presents With a Purpose!

Presents With A Purpose this Saturday!


The Living Water Project is once again participating in Presents With a Purpose!  The event will be held THIS Saturday, 11-7-15, from 9 am to 2 pm at The Well Coffee House, 690 Old Hickory Blvd, Brentwood, TN 37027!

Here is some information from the Presents With a Purpose facebook page!

Make out your Christmas shopping list and bring it to the Presents with a Purpose event at The Brentwood Well Coffeehouse on Saturday, November 7 from 9:00 - 2:00!
You can buy great gifts for your loved ones, help financially support organizations that make our community and this world a better place, and drink some delicious coffee that uses a portion of their proceeds to build clean water wells in areas of need. It's a WIN - WIN - WIN!

Our participating vendors this year are:

  • The Living Water Project
  • Made in the Streets
  • Thistle Farms
  • Branded Collective/End Slavery TN
  • Youthreach International
  • Mission Lazarus
  • Exile International
  • Noonday
  • Strings for Hope
  • Cotton Mill
  • The Well Coffeehouse and the great products they sell everyday from JOYN, Harvest Hands, ‪#‎livebeyond‬, and blood:water mission.

To find out more info, please go to the event page:https://www.facebook.com/events/1523546094603838/

See you there!

The Living Water Project

 

The Living Water Zambia Summer Well Challenge!

Over the past four years, The Living Water Project has funded 7 wells per drilling season in Zambia. We have partnered with the Namwianga Mission in Zambia. Our well coordinator in Zambia is Shadreck Sibwaalu. Shadreck works with Namwianga Missions in Zambia and has become a most outstanding water project coordinator and partner with The Living Water Project. Every year, he surveys villages to find those areas in the most need for clean water wells. This year, Shadreck has identified 8 villages that do not have a clean water source. They currently gather water from holes collecting rain water (see pictures below).  Thanks to our generous donors, we have enough funds for 5 wells ($30,000). We are still needing funds for 3 more wells.  We need $18,000 by the end of July to be able to fund these wells. Will you join us?

The 8 Proposed Villages in greatest need of wells in 2015 are as follows. Please see the pictures below of each village and their current water source. 

1.      Kabele village

2.      Kabombo village

3.      Mayoba village

4.      Njebe village

5.      Siachaihja village

6.      Siakuba village

7.      Sichimwa village

8.      Simapungula village


To donate:

- Go to http://www.livingwaterwells.com/donate/

- You can pay via paypal or mail in a check.

- Please indicate "Zambia 2015" in your donation.

Questions? 

Contact Jon Lee at jonlee03@hotmail.com
To learn more about the Living Water Project, visit www.livingwaterwells.org.

Thank you!

The Living Water Project

World Water Day 2015

Did you know March 22 is World Water Day. The UN deemed this year's theme to be water and sustainable development. The Living Water Project seeks to be part of that each and every time we fund a well by providing maintenance training and forming a water committee to ensure it has local, unbiased ownership. 

Will you join us in celebrating the gift of clean, affordable water by donating the amount of your water bill (or more!) to The Living Water Project? Donations can be made online at www.livingwaterwells.org/donate/ or by check to The Living Water Project, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027.

Amazon Smile

The Living Water Project is now on AmazonSmile!  Please consider making your purchases at Amazon through smile.amazon.com and select The Living Water Project as your cause of choice.  Click the link in the box below to take you directly to our portal.  Thanks for considering this.

The Living Water Project

Living Water Bracket Challenge!

Welcome to the Living Water Project Bracket Challenge!  Your entry to this unique bracket pool will help us provide life-giving clean water in deserving communities around the world where it is currently inaccessible.  Please feel free to forward this to family and friends.

The winning entry will have the privilege of:
- Honoring a loved one or friend with one of Living Water's 2015 wells. 
- Naming the Otter Creek Church basketball gym as they choose for the next year, until our 2015 bracket contest.  Scott Schwieger, the 2014 winner, named the gym “The Hymnasium”.  Please see the photo below. Well done, Scott!

Here's how to play:
1) Go to http://livingwater.mayhem.cbssports.com/
2) Enter the group password - water2015
3) If you don't already have a CBS Sportsline user ID, you'll need to create one.
4) Enter your picks! IMPORTANT: be sure to note the scoring system, under "Group Home", then "Scoring and Rules". Deadline for entry is11:00 am Central time on Thursday, March 19.
5) Entry fee is $20 per bracket, (additional donations are accepted!). ALL PROCEEDS benefit The Living Water Project, and will go toward construction of life-giving clean-water wells.
6) To pay your entry donation ($20 per bracket), go to http://www.livingwaterwells.com/donate/

Questions? 
Contact Jon Lee at jonlee03@hotmail.com
To learn more about the Living Water Project, visit www.livingwaterwells.org.

Thanks for playing! 

The Living Water Project