In the midst of the pandemic, we’re happy to share a spot of good news from our friends abroad. In May 2020, a new well in Liberia was completed and dedicated. It honors the father of Alfred Beyan, our on-ground partner in Liberia, who suddenly lost his father, David Beyan, in January 2020. Alfred was very touched by our offer to dedicate the well to his dad, and he selected the Hope Community as the location for this honor. A beautiful sign was posted at the dedication. The photo shows the sign and the Beyan family: Alfred on the right with wife, Mina, daughters, Krubo and Eve, and a family friend.
Celebrating Loved Ones With Memorial Gifts to the Living Water Project
A dear friend and supporter of the Living Water Project, Susan Stumne, passed away in January 2020. Knowing of her passion for the cause of clean water, her family graciously made the LWP the recipient of memorial gifts. We're grateful to report that those gifts covered the cost of a new well.
Recently, in celebration of Susan's birthday on August 15, her friends began a campaign to raise an additional $5,000 for the cause of clean water. In just two weeks’ time, the campaign proved successful! Susan’s memory will long be cherished as more wells will soon be built in her name.
Donating a well in someone’s honor is a touching and long-lasting gift, and we are more than happy to talk you through the possibilities and help facilitate such a loving gesture. Contact the Living Water Project for more information, to receive a copy of our grant application and selection process details, or with any other questions.
2020 Zambia Campaign for Clean Water Exceeds Goal
We are thrilled to announce that we surpassed our $20k in 20 days goal in the 2020 Zambia Campaign! Our generous donors gave $23,733 to build new wells in Zambia, home to one of our most vibrant partnerships.
Through the excellent oversight of Shadreck at Namwianga Mission, the Living Water Project has completed 76 wells in Zambia since 2011. Because of this year’s successful campaign, we will be able to keep that momentum and continue to help the Zambian people in tangible ways: with greater and easier access to clean water!
Pandemic Makes Clean Water Access Even More Critical for Vulnerable Communities
The COVID-19 pandemic is making efforts to expand clean water access—especially in impoverished communities around the world—even more vital.
While in the United States, we’re fighting the virus by following infectious disease experts’ advice to wash our hands for at least 20 seconds, easy access to soap and clean water is not a privilege that everyone on the planet enjoys.
Research from the World Resources Institute reveals that 3 billion people (40% of the world’s population) don’t have the facilities to wash their hands at home, and almost an additional billion people don’t have secure access to water, with frequent shutoffs reducing their ability to practice safe hand hygiene.
“Water crises were ranked above both infectious diseases and food crises in the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risks Report. This year, the world is likely to see all three,” writes Alan Nicol, strategic program for the International Water Management Institute, in the May 12, 2020, issue of Foreign Policy. “It is essential that clean water reaches as many people as possible to enable them to take the basic precautions needed to reduce the risk of infection from the coronavirus.”
Even before COVID-19, 780 million people in developing nations were already vulnerable when it came to securing clean and safe access to water, according to a 2012 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The water crisis in many nations can be deadly: Unsafe drinking water, inadequate water supply and lack of proper sanitation contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases. Added to those numbers are the millions of people infected with tropical diseases related to water-related issues and poor hygiene practices.
But it’s not all gloom and doom: The Safer Water, Better Health study from WHO study shows that water, sanitation and hygiene intervention programs could prevent at least 9.1% of the global disease burden and reduce the number of deaths by 6.3%. These interventions include wells like the 614 well projects spearheaded by the Living Water Project since its founding in 2000.
Not only will expanded water access keep rural and impoverished communities from being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus during this time of heightened crisis, but it will help these communities stay resilient, healthy and sustainable far into the future.
Have a Question About the Living Water Project? We Have Answers!
The Living Water Project’s email box is often full of great questions from those of you curious to learn more about our mission to provide clean and accessible water for people in impoverished areas of the world. Whether you’re a long-time supporter or brand new to our organization, take a look at our new FAQs page for answers to common questions about how we work.
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the most common queries we receive:
How much does a well cost?
The cost varies depending on the location of the well and factors such as the cost of labor, depth of the water table, type of soil, etc. Costs can range from around $1,800 for a well in Togo or Benin to as much as $10,000 for a well in Kenya or Tanzania, with price points in between.
How much of my donation goes to wells and how much to administrative costs?
100% of your donation goes directly to funding well projects. Yes, that’s right—the entire amount! Because we are 100% run by volunteers and don’t have any paid staff, office space rental or overhead, that means your entire donation benefits well projects.
Can we donate a well in someone's honor?
Donating a well in someone’s honor is a touching and long-lasting gift, and we are more than happy to help facilitate such a loving gesture. We are happy to talk you through the possibilities!
You’ll also learn fun facts such as:
• the countries where we already have well projects
• the number of well projects we’ve completed in the 20 years of our organization
• one of the top prerequisites for setting up a water system
• the three types of well projects we fund around the world
After reading through our FAQs, please let us know what else you’d like to know, and we’ll add that answer to the list!
Rejoicing With Partners in Liberia and Ghana
We recently heard confirmation from partners Alfred Beyan in Liberia and Paul Partey in Ghana that they have received Living Water Project funds for greatly desired new wells. Though the drilling of those wells is on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brother Alfred and Brother Paul are eager to get that work underway and will do so when the all-clear is sounded from their countries’ public health departments.
Late last year, Alfred and Paul oversaw the completion of four wells in each of their respective nations. They even traveled to the dedications of each of those wells, bringing added blessings to those communities. The two men share a special connection: Paul worked on Alfred’s ministry team in Liberia for several years before returning home to Ghana.
We’re also excited to announce that Liberia was the site of a special milestone for our organization last year: Dixville Town was the location of the Living Water Project’s Well No. 500 since our founding in 2001. We appreciate all our generous donors for the funds that made those 500 wells possible.
Thanks to our partners in Liberia and Ghana for their incredibly hard work to get these wells in the ground. Stay tuned for more good news about future well projects in these countries.
Clean Water for Congo's Students
Great news! The water catchment project for the Pinson School in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is complete. The project serves close to 1,200 students at this school, including many children sponsored by Exile International, an organization restoring rescued child soldiers and children orphaned by war through art-focused trauma care & holistic rehabilitation.
“The timing of this project is so symbolic and representative of God’s goodness. Water points directly to life and hope—wonderful gifts from God,” says Jared Palmitier, managing director at Exile International. “Completing this project with the Living Water Project now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not only met an essential human need for many … it has brought much needed encouragement and hope!”
The Living Water Project (TLWP) is proud to be a partner of Exile International and excited to complete our 5th clean water project together—collectively bringing clean, life-giving water to thousands. TLWP was able to donate the new catchment system thanks in large part to funds provided by Otter Creek Church of Christ’s legendary consignment sale.
The Pinson School is currently not holding classes because of the pandemic, but we hope and pray it will open again soon. In the meantime, the catchment system will be a source of clear water for the surrounding community, which includes many of the students, teachers and families connected to the school.
The project will even help safeguard these men, women and children from COVID-19. How? Rather than traveling several kilometers to obtain drinking water, which would increase their potential exposure, they will have a local source of water … thus decreasing their need to travel and decreasing their exposure. Yet another reason to celebrate!
A Letter From Guatemala
‘In Solidarity With You’: Looking to the Future With Our Worldwide Partners
The Living Water Project is proud of our partnerships that help bring clean water to the rural mountain villages of Guatemala. Though the work in Guatemala is now on hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to be in communication with our local partner, Adicay, a nonprofit engineering organization based in Alta Verapaz in the heart of the Ulpan Valley. We help fund and study projects spearheaded by Adicay along with Lipscomb University’s Peugeot Center for Engineering Service in Developing Communities and KnoxProCorps, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based engineering nonprofit group. “Being able to connect with professionals in the local communities who speak the local language and know the culture helps to open doors and get clean water projects done faster,” says Jon Lee, president of TLWP’s board of directors.
Adicay’s leader, Ana Cal Choc, recently sent the Living Water Project a message about how COVID-19 is affecting the region. She also affirmed her commitment to future projects once the challenges of the pandemic have been overcome. Her letter is a poignant reminder that what we are experiencing in the United States right now is a worldwide event—and that we’re all in this battle together.
Dear Living Water Project friends:
I hope that you and your family will be well, as far as possible, in the midst of so much tragedy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We maintain faith and hope that we will get out of this difficult situation very soon. I appreciate that despite everything, you take the time to support us emotionally and financially. Thank you. God will reward you for the good works you do.
In Alta Verapaz, currently we are still under orders to stay at home, which is why I think that the number of cases has not increased further.
We are confident that after this difficult situation is over, we will be able to cover the days of delay in the field. We are optimistic and are committed to the new projects despite the uncertainty that exists.
Though we believe that we can execute new projects, we are enormously worried about the shortage of future funds. We know that after the pandemic, our communities will have greater need and their health will be at risk if they do not have potable water services. I am sure that together we will be a light at the end of the tunnel for these communities.
We believe that if we are united with our partners on the same objectives, we will be able to achieve these future projects. We are hoping to have your support. We are in solidarity with you, your families and the donors who have subsidized past projects.
Thank you very much for your good wishes to the ADICAY staff. Kind regards, a big hug and many blessings.
-Ana
2019 Living Water Project Year in Review
This was TWLP’s 19th year of partnering with communities around the world to provide clean water. As of the end of 2019, this ministry has funded a total of 546 wells/clean-water projects in 25 different countries. These projects represent more than $1.5 million committed to clean water development since our founding in 2000.
In 2019 TWLP funded a total of 97 new wells/clean-water projects, with a total of $317,066 committed to these projects. This is an all-time single-year LWP record. The breakdown of projects by country is as follows:
Liberia: 20
Nicaragua: 20
Togo: 15
Ghana: 14
Zambia: 10
Cameroon: 6
Chad: 5
Malawi: 4, plus funds for hydrogeological survey
Guatemala: 1
Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1
Uganda: 1
A total of approximately $310,000 was donated to TWLP this year, representing a 5% increase from 2018’s total of $294,480, our previous record year. This total amount is also an all-time single-year LWP record. As always, these milestones were accomplished while the organization is still being completely run by volunteers.
We are thankful for a decade of significant and steady growth. For some historical perspective, consider the following two graphs. One shows donations received per year from 2013 to 2019, and the other shows total dollars committed to clean water per year over these same years.
We would like to also extend gratitude to the wonderful on-ground well/ministry coordinators who made this work possible:
Liberia: Alfred Beyan
Nicaragua: David Shelton, TJ McCloud
Togo: Nestor Abalo
Ghana: Paul Partey
Zambia: Shadreck Sibwalu
Cameroon: Dr. Samuel Doungous, Issa Keitoumar
Chad: Pastor Samba Paul, Issa Keitoumar
Malawi: Joseph Faison
Guatemala: ADICAY (Guatemala-based nonprofit)
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Jared Palmitier
Uganda: Jared Palmitier
Thank you to our supporters for generously giving of your time and money! We are looking forward to a great 2020.
—Jon Lee, LWP president
Time for the annual Living Water Project Bracket Challenge!
It’s March, and the Madness is back. Your entry into our unique NCAA Tournament bracket pool will help provide clean, life-giving water around the world. Bill Rieder of Brentwood, TN has won the past two years. Can he make it a three-peat in 2019?
The LWP Bracket Challenge winner will have the privilege of honoring a loved one through a 2019 Living Water Project well.
To enter:
Make a $20 donation PER BRACKET (5 bracket max) via www.livingwaterwells.org/donate to enter the contest. Larger gifts are always welcomed. All proceeds benefit the Living Water Project, and will go toward construction of life-giving wells.
IMPORTANT: Please put "Bracket Challenge" in the Add Special Instructions To The Seller blank on PayPal.
….then proceed to http://livingwater.mayhem.cbssports.com/ to enter your picks. The brackets lock on Thursday, March 21st at 11:00 am CST.
Questions? Contact Jon Lee at jlee@livingwaterwells.org
Good luck, and thanks for playing!