In Zambia, wells provide needed water to communities, schools and medical clinics. CBF photo
By Sue H. Poss
ATLANTA – At Beulah Baptist Church in Aylett, Va., one conversation led to another and soon the church had organized a year-long project to raise money to dig a well in Zambia and promote water conservation in its own community.
It started with a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship DVD that included a segment on Fran and Lonnie Turner’s work to dig wells in Zambia. Church member Ginger Rice showed it to a Women on Missions group, which included some leaders of Children on Mission. Together, Rice said, the women and children decided to make raising money to dig a well a church-wide project. Then, recognizing their own community was suffering a drought, they added local water conversation as part of their emphasis.
The effort to raise the $2,000 to dig one well and to promote water conservation began in February 2008 during the church’s annual focus on missions, said Judy Shepard, missions coordinator at Beulah. By the time of the 2009 focus, the church had raised $2,532.48, with $605.20 coming from the children.
The Turners, CBF field personnel, began working with water projects in 1998, and have dug and installed more than 2,000 wells and pumps.
“In Zambia the people say, ‘Water is life,’” the Turners said in an e-mail. “That statement affirms that access to clean water for drinking and growing food is a basic human right.”
More than 5,000 children die every day due to the lack of access to clean water - one every 20 seconds, the Turners said.
“This fact alone is a very good reason to install wells and pumps,” they said. “Access to water for the rural poor provides the links to food security and economic growth. These wells provide clean drinking water and food security for families and communities. This improves the family nutrition and provides income to the families from the sale of the vegetables produced by having water access for irrigating of crops. It also helps schools and clinics have access to water.”
Having more wells also means women and children don’t have to carry water as far. A single bucket of water might weigh as much as 45 pounds. Fifteen wells are currently under construction in the Turners’ area.
Wells in Zambia cost about $2,000 each, are 22-32 feet deep, and lined with two-inch concrete blocks, which are then plastered with concrete to prevent the well from collapsing. A concrete cap is installed on top of the well to keep children and/or animals from falling into the well. Each well is equipped with a hand-pump.
“Anytime an individual, business, faith-based group, or service club gives $2,000 (the cost of a well), they will bring positive change for many people,” the Turners said.
To promote its water emphasis, Beulah included announcements in each week’s bulletin about the wells in Zambia along with a home water conservation tip. Each month, a water conservation tip was posted at water fountains and faucets and in the kitchen and bathrooms in the church building. In Vacation Bible School last summer, the offerings went to the Zambia well project. One artistic church member, Pam Fogg, made a large replica of a well (which remained on display in the church) and several smaller wells which were used as table decorations on numerous occasions throughout the year.
Established in 1812, Beulah Baptist Church has 281 members.
“We are very much a supporter of CBF and global missions,” Shepard said. “Any time a [field personnel] speaks here, we add them to our prayer list which is before us every Wednesday night.”
The Turners are on that list and that is one reason the DVD segment about them caught the attention of church members.
“When people can put a face to a project and that person has been with us, there’s a connecting link right there,” Shepard said. “This particular project was both far-reaching and local. It came at a time when water in our community was a precious commodity, so we were able to combine a project to reach out across the world with one that would also be beneficial in our own community.”
“It was such an amazing project to be a part of, and I know the love of giving this well will be so helpful to the people of Zambia and help show them God's love,” Rice said. “I hope more churches will start a well project. It is such an easy way to help so many people and such a good way to show love.”
CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.