| # 1 – WATER FOR KARAKALPAKSTAN |
| You may have noticed a trend recently of young people wandering around with gigantic brand name water bottles. These containers can hold up to two litres of water! Whether walking down the street, or at school or work, you can spy these water consumers sipping away on their special, often brandname water jugs. I am not sure how the rest of us survived growing up in school with the occasional stop at the water fountain!Karakalpakstan is an autonomous region of Uzbekistan that has been hit hard with an ecological disaster. During the Soviet era, water was redirected from the two main rivers (the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya) to irrigate the desert like land for cotton crops. In the 90s this led to a complete collapse of the Aral sea and the surrounding area that depended on the water from these rivers. The land left behind was also contaminated by saline which was a biproduct from the irrigation efforts. Today the water that flows into the public water system is undrinkable. This also means that the water in the schools is undrinkable. There is no refilling of big drinking jugs for children here. All water is bought in bottles from the store. |
| Opportunity One of our partners in this region has gained permission to bring filtered water stations into the schools. Our team has already installed one water filtering station in a school. They are preparing to equip two more schools with drinking water filtering stations. This involves drilling wells, installing pipes and filtering equipment and many other details. Not only does water in the schools allow the children to drink clean water, it will also allow for basic sanitation education like the washing of hands. This service of providing water filtering stations also creates trust with the local people which also opens doors to share the love of Jesus. |
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| This Giving Tuesday, we would like to encourage you to give towards clean water in Karakalpakstan. A gift of $140 will go towards our goal of helping fund one drinking water station in a local school (approx $4200 CAD). |
| # 2 – FOUNTAIN OF LIFE |
| We continue to partner with the Fountain of Life in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to provide weekly support for their Day Centre. At the Day Centre, homeless people of Bishkek can find a nourishing meal, showers, basic medical care, help with documents and spiritual care. In this much used facility the leadership is also able to provide the men and women with ways to access more intense help like detox and recovery centres. The weekly work this centre does is transforming people’s lives. |
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| A gift of $100 will help the Day Centre provide continued care for these people who are otherwise rejected by the Kyrgiz society. Our goal this year is $1500. |
| The Fountain of Life leadership continues to seek local sponsors in Kyrgyzstan. In a recent publication the director of the centre wrote: “We are always considering ways that money can be generated within the country, but in a post-soviet state where the homeless are an embarrassment, this is no easy task.” |
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