The gift and blessing of water.

Those of us who have worked in medical clinics in developing countries know well that the most common medical complaints stem from contaminated water. Working with the Catholic community of Divine Mercy, and with members of other Catholic and United Methodist Congregations, we are collaboratively developing a ministry for water purification that starts with Honduran women in leadership.

Read more, see the photos, and find out how you can help….

For two years, members of Epiphany have traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in collaborative ecumenical teams. The teams began as “medical brigades”, sponsored by the 1st UMC Frankfort, but soon branched out into dentistry, children’s ministries, reading glasses and more. Sister Larraine has been a part of these teams for 7 years. The teams are sponsored at once a year by the 1st UMC, and once a year by Epiphany, but team membership has included a wide variety of believers from various congregations across Kentucky and beyond.

It didn’t take long for the team to understand that contaminated water was the chief cause of medical problems in this neighborhood. Nearly every patient to our clinic required a dose of parasite medication, even small infants. The childhood mortality in this country that is among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere (generally ranked second poorest only to Haiti) is a part of daily life in this community. Our question became “How can we work with this community to make clean, potable water a part of their daily life, in place of illness and death?”

Our first attempt involved a large system, which soon ran into the common challenges of access, security, maintenance and quality control. We struggled with these challenges for a couple of years, continually frustrated that a major investment had proven essentially fruitless.

Then we came across a deceptively small, inexpensive system that we could purchase for $50, the Sawyer PointOne Filter system. This system became the basis for a whole new ministry that we developed in collaboration with the women of the Divine Mercy community, a ministry we call “Agua con Bendiciones” or “Water with Blessings”. Click here for a link to the Sawyer website, for product overview and specifications. These systems have a filter life of over 1 million gallons of water—a lifetime’s worth. They are portable, sturdy, require minimum maintenance, draw on advanced medical technology…and they don’t need electricity!

Agua con Bendiciones is indeed a ministry. Women who participate form circles of 10-12 women who agree to host the system in their homes, to share the water with their neighbors, and to serve as “water teachers” who instruct others in the importance and use of purified water. It’s this ministry aspect that really makes the program work, for it draws on the women’s love for their children, their sense of integrity with regards to a commitment to God, and their relationships with their neighbors. The women express much pride in their ministry.

The training includes instruction, maintenance and assembly of the systems—including creative decoration! (See the photos.) The women sign contracts for the use of the system, which begins with a six-month trial period. We begin with prayer, and conclude with a final blessing for the systems and the women. Finally, it’s time for family photos!

As of this writing, 60 women have joined the ministry, spanning three congregations, and serving a minimum of 300 families. The 60 women have a total of 138 children—and that is just the children in their own households!

Our trip of February 24-March 3 2010 will largely focus on expanding this ministry. We will take 50 additional systems, to be placed with women from two Catholic congregations and one Methodist. A Methodist mission couple, Steve and Luann Cristy, plan to remain in Honduras another 6 weeks to work with other congregations beyond the city, with another 90 systems. We are especially proud that 6-8 women will graduate through a third program level to become trainers in other congregations. With their leadership, we can grow the program capacity and begin to make more serious inroads into the problem of contaminated water.

How can you help? $50 buys years of clean water for a family and their neighbors…so even just one system is a significant gift. We are also seeking partnerships with organizations that are interested in a solid, ministry-based model that is virtually fail-safe—an ideal investment.