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NIGERIA: All Open Doors Sponsored Boreholes are Commissioned
Thursday 10 December 2009
A Christian boy in Nigeria is ready to get water with his jerry can.
At the beginning of the year Open Doors (OD) set out with great hope and enthusiasm to provide sustainable and clean water to four suffering Christian communities in Kano and Katsina states. This essential commodity of life has been denied the communities of Gidan Garba, Kwanki, Hauwan Gwamna and Gidan Tsoro simply because they are Christians in Muslim-dominated states. There are about 15,000 people in these villages.
The project started in March and met with a lot of challenges due to dishonest drillers and bad roads during the rainy season. But by the grace of God, we were able to complete the boreholes in all the four places by November. The four boreholes have all been commissioned. The people of these communities are looking forward to their first dry season with an abundance of water.
In Gidan Garba and Hauwan Gwamna especially, all wells usually dry up by December. These people then live in pitiable conditions until the rains come again in June. But that is a thing of the past now. There is enough water for everyone now.
Rev. Mani of Gidan Garba, a local pastor from the above area says, “We cannot thank the people that made this borehole possible enough. Only God can thank them on our behalf. They have delivered us from our misery. All the surrounding villages used to know our village as the ‘dry village’. Once December comes, we normally scatter into neighbouring villages to look for water. They themselves are rejoicing the water with us now. Many of our people are still thinking that it is a dream. But it’s true. We thank God and your ministry. May God bless you!”
Because of the new availability of water in Hauwan Gwamna many Muslims are now coming from nearby Islam dominated communities to fetch water. In an apparent move to keep up with the Christian communities, the state government has sunk a borehole in a nearby Muslim community.
The people of Hauwan Gwamna are very happy and grateful to God for their borehole. Musa Usman, a resident, reveals the mood of his people when he said, “your ministry has come to give our town life. You know, there are many evangelists here who go to Muslim villages to tell them about Jesus and that with God all things are possible. The people have always challenged them to ask their Jesus to give them water. To the glory of God, our Jesus has given us water that they themselves are coming to fetch. We have been delivered from shame and the suffering and hardship that lack of water caused us. We are very grateful to God and your ministry which He used to bring this blessing to us.’’
It is the same in Gidan Tsoro. There is much joy because of the prospect of having water all year round.
In Kwanki the borehole is important to the students of the only secondary school there. It was the first to be done in August and since then it has never stopped supplying water to the grateful people of Kwanki.
Tabitha, a senior student, says, “This borehole has been a blessing to us. Before now we used to get up as early as 3.00 am to go very far from our hostels looking for water to clean up and do our cooking for the day. It was with difficulty that we were able to get a gallon of water, especially in the dry season. But like a dream we now have water right here beside us. We even fetch water any time we need it. We have more time to devote to our studies -unlike before when all our time was taken up by searching for water. We are indeed grateful to God and OD for this big blessing.’’
“The general feeling is that of joy and gratitude to God and to those who made the boreholes possible. It is obvious that the people are proud to be Christians and are more determined to continue to be so no matter what their persecutors may do,” explained the OD co-worker responsible for the borehole project.
Prayer Points
Thank God with us for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these believers.
Please pray that God would use these boreholes in these communities as a testimony of His grace and mercy.
