Imagine a world where water is a very scarce commodity. In order to wash yourself or to have water to drink you need to collect it miles from your home in a bucket. The full bucket of water is very heavy so you can't carry a large load yet the water you carry must be enough for your family to drink, cook and bathe. If you have no money to buy food, you may want to grow some vegetables in your small back yard but you cannot do this because there is no water. For thousands of people in Africa this is not something they have to imagine. It is a daily reality.
For a group of women in Molelwane village this is no longer the case. Thanks to the youth of La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church in Arizona, the Helping Hands Community Centre in Molelwane now has a water-well that is fitted with a pump and a storage tank. This means that there is clean running water available every day. Some of the women from the village have taken advantage of this and have started a micro business - selling vegetables at the local markets. Helping Hands provided the fencing (to keep out the goats) and the soil is being prepared. Seeds will be planted in the next week and soon we will see a small, but thriving business in operation. All this because a group of teenagers that live thousands of miles from this village put in some time and hard work to raise the money for the well. What a wonderful outcome of a partnership between teenagers in the USA and rural women in a small forgotten village in South Africa!I would like to extend an invitation to all of you reading this Postcard who live in the United States ... come and visit us at Helping Hands next summer (2009). Why not approach your church or a group of your family and friends and come and see for yourself. Who knows what kind of partnership may develop out of your trip.
For a group of women in Molelwane village this is no longer the case. Thanks to the youth of La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church in Arizona, the Helping Hands Community Centre in Molelwane now has a water-well that is fitted with a pump and a storage tank. This means that there is clean running water available every day. Some of the women from the village have taken advantage of this and have started a micro business - selling vegetables at the local markets. Helping Hands provided the fencing (to keep out the goats) and the soil is being prepared. Seeds will be planted in the next week and soon we will see a small, but thriving business in operation. All this because a group of teenagers that live thousands of miles from this village put in some time and hard work to raise the money for the well. What a wonderful outcome of a partnership between teenagers in the USA and rural women in a small forgotten village in South Africa!I would like to extend an invitation to all of you reading this Postcard who live in the United States ... come and visit us at Helping Hands next summer (2009). Why not approach your church or a group of your family and friends and come and see for yourself. Who knows what kind of partnership may develop out of your trip.
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With kind regards,
Michelle Tessendorf
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