All is 'Well' in SimonpurWhen a donor came to us looking for a way to help bring water to a drought-stricken village, we jumped at the opportunity. Covenant Family Church, our partner in India, had already requested assistance for five villages in need of deep bore wells to provide a reliable water supply but no funding was available for this project. With a the help of one visionary donor we asked our partners in India to select one of these villages for our first project and they chose Simonpur in the Purulia District of West Bengal. Like the rest of this region Simonpur experienced severe drought in 2016. When the Compassion Way team visited Purulia in April 2016 daytime highs were routinely 113 degrees (F).
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The drilling commenced in early January 2017. Two costly drillings of 300' and 180' produced no water. The family in India joined their prayers with those in the U.S. as we earnestly sought God together to bring water from the 'rock'. Our project administrator in India describes the happy result:
"By the grace of our Mighty God a good quantity of water was came out from the drilling hole after only 50 ft. of drilling and it will continue up to the end of the tube well. The people of the village start clapping and dancing at the tube well site and we give thanks to our Lord God for His compassion and blessing."
"By the grace of our Mighty God a good quantity of water was came out from the drilling hole after only 50 ft. of drilling and it will continue up to the end of the tube well. The people of the village start clapping and dancing at the tube well site and we give thanks to our Lord God for His compassion and blessing."
Well Project #2: Loharsole Village
The second well provides water to a village of snake- charmers whose water supply was permanently lost during the drought of 2016. Yes, snake-charming is an actual occupation in India, and these craftsmen and their 'pet' cobras require water.
The second well provides water to a village of snake- charmers whose water supply was permanently lost during the drought of 2016. Yes, snake-charming is an actual occupation in India, and these craftsmen and their 'pet' cobras require water.
Let there be LIGHT!Some of the villages in the state of Odisha are so remote as to be virtually untouched by the outside world. In their small world daily activities essentially cease once the sun goes down and so it has been for millenia. Almost half of each day they can do little more than sit by the fire in their huts and work on the domestic chores that support their subsistence lifestyle. The jungles surrounging these villages are notoriously unsafe at night and people seldom venture far from their home once darkness has fallen.
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Covenant Family Church recently launched a pilot program to bring light to one such village. Using trucks, then four-wheel drives, then packing equipment on their backs for hours they were able to bring the poles, cables, batteries, and panels to construct a handful of pole-mounted solar collectors with attached outdoor lights to illuminate the village at night. The villagers now enjoy options they have never experienced before and a new era has dawned.