By Bryce Whiting, Africa/Europe Area Director

KENYA – Down and up the hill they walked to fetch water from a river nearly a half a mile away. Every day the older children of Mercy Orphanage Home participated in the needed labor to keep their home running efficiently by lugging water from the river. On school days, they would carry a 5-gallon container to school with them and collect the water on the return trip. When school was not in session, the trek down the hill and back up again was necessitated. The girls carried the water on their heads. While some boys adopted this method, most paired up to lug a greater quantity between them with one on each side of the container. Regardless of how they did it, my chiropractor, if given the chance, would gasp at the guaranteed structural damage to the entire human spine from top-to-bottom. Suffice it to say, water is a precious resource, not to be wasted in most of Africa. The children understand this and waste none of it. This water from the river is what they washed with, cooked with and drank.

Some months ago, a reader of our E-News saw some photos of the children laboring up the hill with their containers of water, and God moved his heart. After many phone calls, we planned to travel to Kenya together to get a first-hand look at the situation, but that trip was cancelled due to COVID-19 lockdowns imposed in that country. The donor undauntedly persisted in his research. We obtained for him some satellite images of the area that he submitted to a geologist. The result was a topographical and geological study that released two possibilities:

1. Drilling a well is a possibility, but since the orphanage is situated high on a hill, there is an expensive likelihood that drilling efforts would find solid rock.
2. The annual precipitation in the Kisii region is greater than in most parts of the USA, thereby making a water-conservation system a feasible solution.

Regardless of the chosen solution to bring water to the orphanage there was one undisputed realization; the need to have a trustworthy and skilled organization on the location putting the system(s) in place for us. The donor contacted a small mission organization in the area that was known for installing wells. They graciously accepted the job. Today we are able to thank God for:

• A 60’ deep well that struck water
• A pump drawing the water and directing it into a 10,000-liter cistern
• A gutter roofing system that captures the rainfall off the roof and fills tanks
• Another smaller cistern with a filtration system for potable water (which at the time of this writing is nearly finished)
• 2 spigots with running water for happy children
• The promise of showers to be installed in each dormitory
• Backs, necks and legs being given a much-needed break

This miracle of grace brings to everyone a taste of the coming kingdom of God where “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city” (Rev. 22:1-2).