29th August, 2014
For people in many communities in northern Nigeria, having a glass of water doesn”t simply mean turning on a tap. It can mean walking an average of some eight kilometres a day, just to provide the family with enough to keep them going. Every day.
Now in its sixth year, Open Doors Australia”s Walk to Water initiative aims to change that by raising money to install deep water wells in a range of Christian communities in the northern Nigerian states of Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Bauchi.
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THE RIPPLE EFFECT: Locating a deep water well close to villages can significantly improve things like the access of girls to education. “(We love it) when the comment comes back that “We feel loved by God because people around the world have built this well”‚Äö√Ѭ∂It”s great testimony to the fact that this isn”t just one isolated little village in northern Nigeria‚Äö√Ѭ∂but they actually belong to the Kingdom of God.” – Jeanette, Walk to Water coordinator for Open Doors Australia |
Not only are such communities facing ongoing attacks from groups like Islamic extremists Boko Haram ” who made world headlines earlier this year when they kidnapped more than 250 schoolgirls from the predominantly Christian town of Chibok ” and health threats like that from the Ebola virus, Open Doors says many Christians in northern Nigeria are being excluded from basic government services, like health and education, because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
“These are Christian villages who the government really neglect…” says Jeanette*, Walk to Water coordinator at Open Doors Australia.
While wells have been built by the Nigerian Government in the area, they”re not deep water wells meaning they can dry up during the dry season.
“We”re doing a borehole that actually drills right down to the artesian water source so that it”s a permanent water source within the village…” says Jeanette. “We get oil drilling equipment and drill right down through to the rock to tap into a pure water source.”
Jeanette says the impact of installing a deep water well goes far beyond just enabling people to have easier access. It can, for example, make a significant difference to the education of children.
“Particularly the girls because they spend all day walking to water ” by the time they come home, they”re late for class (or) they don”t get to class. And so (while) they”ve still got to go and collect the water from the well in the middle of the village, it”s a job that”s done within half an hour.”
Open Doors is this year looking to install a dozen wells to add to the couple of dozen that have been installed over the past few years. As well as building the wells, Open Doors provides training to men to help with the operation and maintenance of the boreholes and to show them how to prevent the well from becoming contaminated ” an issue which has been a problem in the past when wells have been caught in wet season floods. And, in an expansion of the initiative, Open Doors is this year also looking to build some medical and school facilities.
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WATER WALK: Australians prepare to participate in last year’s event. |
More than 50 walks of varying lengths (Open Doors isn”t proscriptive about how long or short walks need to be) are taking place in Australia this year as part of the Walk to Water initiative. While some are church-led events, others may involve schools, walking clubs or even just groups of family and friends.
“People come up with their own ideas.." says Jeanette. "Some people, at the end of their walk, they”ll have a prayer time but other people. they”ll have a big water games day…It”s the diversity of ideas that I love.”
Open Doors Australia hopes to raise between $60,000 and $80,000 this year, adding to the more than $450,000 raised since the first Walk to Water was held in 2009.
Jeanette says that 100 per cent of the funds raised will be used in the field and if more money is raised than needed for the scheduled projects, it will “still go to the churches” in northern Nigeria.
“In 2011, when many churches had been burnt down, we actually raised $30,000 more than we needed for the water wells project and that went towards rebuilding churches.”
While Open Doors Australia has nominated Saturday, 13th September, as the key date for walks, some are taking place earlier in September and others a little later ” although Jeanette says they”d like to see them held by the end of October so the money can get into the field.
"(We love it) when the comment comes back that “We feel loved by God because people around the world have built this well”," says Jeanette. "It”s a great testimony to the fact that this isn”t just one isolated little village in northern Nigeria…but they actually belong to the Kingdom of God.”
* Jeanette”s surname has not been included for security reasons.
