Water Heals
Being a Christian in India is harder now than it has been in years. It is a country that is fractured by religious agendas, and people are angry. Violence against Christians has become commonplace. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently spoke out about the spread of anti-Christian violence in India. The sight of mobs smashing churches and prayer halls while Christians in the country are killed or left cowering in refugee camps is, as Dr Singh describes, a “national shame”.
Violence hasn’t been a problem everywhere, but there is religious tension in every diverse community. In many places in North India, each religious group has its own water source… usually an open, unprotected well.
Manchawan village is one of these communities. Muslims, Hindus, Christians… none of them have seen clean water in 20 years. They repeatedly requested help from the village chief and regional politicians, but to no avail.
Eventually, they got connected with LWI North India. They day the team arrived to drill a new well, everything changed.
As drilling began, the villagers were excited and very supportive. The land for the well was donated by a local Dalit [low caste] man, but the Muslims helped with the work on the site, and were very hospitable.
Today, the new well stands in the center of Manchawan, and is used by people of all castes and religions. Children can be healthy. Vegetables are being grown with the excess water.
For the first time, the people of this village gather at a common well. Water, provided in the name of Jesus, has brought the community together like nothing else could.
