Mama, my tummy hurts! I’m thirsty, Mama! Why can’t I have a drink of water? The cries of the children in the village of Alumenda would break their mothers’ hearts. Deep in the southern region of Malawi there was little hope for clean water without a dependable pump in their village. The nearby river water shared with the local cows was contaminated.
Meleniya, mother of six children, spent many hours each day filling her buckets with the dirty water and carrying them home for her family to use. She shared that the path to the riverbank was overgrown, and she often had to run from the snakes without getting any water. Then the family would go to bed without food.
Fatima also has six children and told how the river water caused frequent diarrhea and stomach aches. She wanted to have a garden to grow vegetables, but the lack of water made that impossible.
In September 2024, our partner, Design Outreach, went to the village of Alumenda and installed a LifePump fitted with our SonSetLink® technology – a satellite-based, remote water-monitoring system. Based on usage data from the monitor, water has been pumped an average of nine hours each day since its installation. That represents over 93,000 gallons of water in just three months!
Now these ladies and all the other families in Alumenda have a dependable supply of clean water. The families are healthier. They can water their vegetable gardens, grow their own food and make bricks to expand their kitchens and dwellings.
A gospel outreach held on the day of the installation provided an opportunity to distribute Bibles to the villagers. Having safe drinking water fosters trust and relationship building, opening hearts to the truths of God’s Word. We praise the Lord not only for the tangible benefits safe water brings to households and communities, but also for lives transformed by faith in Jesus, the Living Water.
By Barb Anderson, March 2025