Water in Mozambique
Mozambique has a population of nearly 21 million and is located in southeast Africa. It has approximately 1,500 miles of coastline along the Indian Ocean. It is an impoverished country. In 2004, approximately 78% of the population lived on less than US $2 per day.
The life expectancy at birth is just under 41 years, compared to 78 years in the US. This is due in part to the high incidence of malaria and AIDS. Throughout Africa, malaria is said to kill one in four children under the age of five. In 2004, about 16% of Mozam-bicans between the ages of 15 and 49 were living with HIV, the AIDS virus.
Another very significant health problem is the lack of access to safe water. According to the Living Water Society, only 37 % of Mozambicans have access to safe water. More-over, unsafe water and poor sanitation are killing about 55 children per day.
In November 2007, one of the leaders of the Methodist Church of Mozambique indicated that the primary need which their church has, for which North American Christians can help, is to support the ministry of drilling and constructing wells.
The criteria for selecting a site for drilling is not only that there is a need for safe water and san-itation, but also that a church can be planted nearby. If a well is drilled near a Christian home, where perhaps there is al-ready a regular Bible study, then other families will come near there to draw water and hopefully be persuaded to join the Bible study.
When no clean water source is readily available, people must often walk up to 6 miles one way, every day, to get water for their household needs. Usually this task is delegated to the women and girls. Because they must spend so much time fetching water, many girls do not have time to attend school. This reality is reflected in the difference of literacy rates in men versus women.
The Methodist Church of Mozambique partners with the Living Water Society to drill and construct wells. The cost of the well varies depending on factors such as the depth which one must drill and the type of soil one must drill through. A typical well costs about US $5,000 to drill. The Living Water Society notes that their competitors would charge about US $7,500 for the same service.
When the Living Water Society drills a well, they also send trained workers into the target community in order to teach the people practices about sanitation and hygiene.
More information about the Living Water Society and water procurement in Mozambique can be obtained from the internet at the following two locations:
1) The Living Water Society of Mozambique goes by two names in Portuguese, which is the official language of Mozambique: a) Sociedade de Água Viva (SAV) and b) Associa-ção Água Viva Their web site is in English and in Portuguese. Their web site address is: www.aaguaviva.org
2) The United Methodist Church in the Virginia Annual Conference has partnered with the Methodist Church of Mozambique in several areas, including the drilling of wells. On their web site, there is a Power Point presentation from the Living Water Society which can be downloaded. The presentation includes excellent photos, informative statistics and technical information about the drilling operations. To access the presentation, use the following procedure: a) go to the Virginia UM Conference web site at http://www.vaumc.org/ b) from the home page, link to “Ministries” c) from the drop-down menu, link to “Mozambique/Initiatives of Hope” d) from the next web page, scroll down to a link on the left-hand side entitled “Living Water Society Overview (Power Point)”
As of November 2007, the Methodist Church of Mozambique had five locations on their waiting list for communities waiting to have a well drilled and constructed. More communities will be added to the list as these five are attended to.
For those who wish to help support this work financially, the North Georgia United Methodist Menare able to channel gifts directly to the Methodist Church of Mozambique. After the funds are raised to drill at least one well, the funds will be wired to the Methodist Church of Mozambique’s account.
If a well costs US $5,000 and serves a community of 500 people, then a gift of:
$30 will provide an ongoing source of safe, clean water for 3 people
$100 will provide water for 10 people
$250 will provide water for 25 people
Gifts for this ministry may be made by making a check payable to United Methodist Men. On the memo portion of the check, one may write “Mozambique.”
Gifts may be sent to “United Methodist Men; North Georgia Conference; P.O. Box 923266; Norcross, GA 30010-3266
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Mt. 10:42
For more information contact -
Eric Owen | |
McEachern AMAR | |
(H) 770-949-1239 | |
(E-mail) esowen(at)bellsouth.net |