Archive for 2010
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
For several weeks and maybe months I have been pondering something unrelated to water, India, bore wells, lepers, HIV/Aids or even orphan children.
Amazing huh?
Thinking about something other than India, and no, it wasn’t why are the Dallas Cowboys having a miserable season; I was pondering about God.
Ok, so many of a philosopher has done this, as well as theologians and the like but here is my pondering….what happens with the stuff we leave on the table so to speak? (I can thank my friend Dan Chaverin for this as after 5 minutes of trying to articulate what I was thinking he threw this out pretty quickly and hit the nail on the head.)
This is what I mean: if God gives us gifts, talents, abilities, blessings, extra measure of grace or whatever, call it what you want, bottom line is He gives us those things. Furthermore, He desires that we put these things to use for the benefit of others and for building His Kingdom, so then what happens to all this “stuff” if we don’t use it, don’t invest it wisely, propagate it, multiply it or whatever?
What if we just didn’t know what to do with this extra measure of goodness and let it sit? What if we didn’t have mentors, father figures, friends who knew what they were talking about to help us navigate?
What happens then?
Does God remove it?
Is there a score card up in Heaven and when all is said and done and we stand before Him, out comes the card and we find out that we left the table with gifts still on it, unused, untouched, unexplored, or worse – enjoyed?
Maybe that describes you, I think it describes me.
So what next, is there hope or a 2nd chance? Can God give us the gift again before it’s too late?
Herein is the beauty of God as revealed to me today by my friend Dan; God has agape love for me, for you, for all of us. Meaning, God’s love always acts towards our highest benefit. Period.
The incredible, unearned, bountiful, amazing agape of God, which is the highest form of love describable and for which is what describes God’s love for us, means even if we leave “stuff” on the table, it’s ok; were still loved and accepted.
For me, this simple truth about God and His love brings peace and security because regardless of what I have done, will or will not do with my life, the fact remains that God’s love towards me is unchanging and the same holds true for you!
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Monday, November 1st, 2010
Sometimes it seems like my head is swimming in details and logistical challenges pertaining to our work in India and as a result I may not communicate effectively or clearly and for that I apologize.
Let me attempt to put the record straight on what Wells for Life® is undertaking.
First, we are still all about water. We will continue to provide clean, safe drinking water to rural villages and communities. That hasn’t changed and it won’t ever change until God speaks to me that we are done, and I can assure you that hasn’t happened.
Next, the thing with the goats is this; it’s a new strategy or initiative if you will. I have a desire to be impactful in what we do in India and so we’re going to attempt to do that in 5 villages near Trichy with our Indian partner, DPWA. In addition to providing an income generating solution to these 5 places, we want to introduce a community health worker and a teacher for each village to help tutor the school age children so that they can compete academically with their peers.
Wells for Life® continues to be influential within rural India as we undertake our work with our partners and this will continue to be the case. I highlighted last month our new initiative because I was really excited that we were doing this and wanted to get things off the ground and need to raise the necessary funds to do so. So far we have the money for water and the community health worker, in fact, those funds are being sent to India this week. I still need money for goats, cows and for the teacher so if you feel led to be a part of something that is going to help a village move out of poverty and allowing for the children in the village to have a better opportunity competing in the classroom, then step up and give.
For those of you who aren’t interested in making a difference holistically, we still need your support with providing water to rural areas in India. Many projects are waiting for our funding and for $1500 I can bring a bore well with a hand pump; all I need is your help.
95% of what you give is used in fulfilling our mission, directly impacting those in rural areas. I don’t take a salary, I don’t have a fancy office or car, none of what you give goes to me, and it goes towards making an impact in the lives of the rural poor, the marginalized and outcaste of society.
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Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Early on this year I received a call from India and it was from my friend Schaun, he was leaving India on his way to Thailand and before he boarded the plane he said, “Bro, let’s go to India over Christmas and spend it with all the children from New Life Children’s Home, Light of Love Children’s Home, kids from Chintalapudi and Hope Island and maybe even they will bring the kids from the home in Hyderabad. Bro, there could be over 1500 kids. What do you think?”
How do you answer something like that other than by saying Yes? Until you realize you have to talk to your wife, sell her on the idea and then the hardest sell of all, the kids. Missing Christmas is huge, just today my daughter announced she was mad because she was going to miss Christmas and getting a tree. We had a discussion about that and resolved that we get a tree, maybe a fake one, and take a few presents with us.
I share all of this to say were going to India this Christmas and were still figuring out the whole present part but the cool thing is we are going and 18 others are joining us, many of whom are families. It is going to be a blast celebrating Christmas with our friends and doing it in India at New Life Children’s Home and being joined by more than 1,000 kids.
Why this announcement now and not sometime after Thanksgiving? The answer lies in this; I want to make Christmas special for the children at New Life Children’s Home in particular. You see these kids don’t have anyone planning on giving them presents this year so how cool would it be to come equipped with enough money to get gifts for them all?
Really cool, so cool that my wife is wanting to spear head this drive and so here is her request -
Hello! Looking for a gift for the person who has everything? How about outfitting an orphan this Christmas on their behalf?
As many of you know I am headed to India with my husband and children over the holidays to spend Christmas at one of the orphanages we support. I am raising funds this year specifically to make this time of year special for the orphans. My husband sent an email off to the Director of the orphanage to understand the needs and he was told that there are currently 180 children at New Life Children’s Home and of course the more we raise the more we can do for these kids. Based on email from the Director a total of $5,000 could purchase 2 sets of clothes and special food and sweets for all of the kids, so we will shoot for that or more!
You can easily donate through the website and you will find that there are a variety of ways to send in your tax deductible donation after clicking on the Give button on the site. Just be sure to mark the donation as Christmas 2010. And if you are like me you may also get a little sidetracked on the blogs about goats….but that is another story!
Thank you for your consideration! Please feel free to forward this blog to others who may be interested. And yes, pictures will be posted of the children smartly dressed in their new outfits enjoying their treats!
Please help us this year make Christmas memorable for these wonderful kids.
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Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
My last entry was about our shift in focus concerning 5 specific villages in Trichy. I shared about the difference I thought we could really make in a place by providing not just water but also contribute towards those other areas of village life which might be adversely affecting them.
5 villages were identified by our partner DPWA and through a series of interviews it was concluded that the villagers most needed some type of income generating activity, supplemental education for their children and help with health and hygiene issues. Resultantly a proposal was submitted to us by DPWA requesting help with the provision of water, goats/cows, teachers and a community health worker.
Today I received a check from The Water Project, Inc. for the water portion of DPWA’s proposal. I am so thankful for The Water Project, Inc. and their continued support in our efforts in Trichy. (Their gift is the result of generous giving by individuals of all ages, churches, community groups, businesses and corporations, without which we wouldn’t be able to embark on this journey so quickly, so thank you to all those supporting The Water Project, Inc.)
In addition to their gracious gift, I took the liberty of submitting to them a proposal concerning the introduction of a community health worker who would be in charge of the 5 villages and who would be responsible for providing village level education on health/hygiene/sanitation as well as infant care and maternal health.
Now I am looking to you, my Wells for Life® supporters. I need your help in funding for this new holistic endeavour in Trichy.
Specifically, funding is needed for each villages income generating activities which is centered around goats (a couple of villages have also requested milk cows). To provide goats for a village at $2,500 per village and there are 5 villages needing funding.
This is how it will work: we will purchase 2 or 3 goats for 2 members of each village’s Self Help Group, 10 groups per village. After the 1st year, the goats will have increased their numbers where the group will give 2 or 3 goats to 2 other members of each village’s Self Help Group. This process will continue until every 6 months until all 10 members of the 10 Self Help Groups have goats, once this occurs then goats can be sold and money received can go towards paying the salary for the community health worker and the after school teacher. Further income will also be derived from the expanding goat population to enable the Self Help Groups to assist the villagers in providing their own income and familial support.
The 2nd part of this equation is to provide for a teacher in each of the 5 villages supplemental education facility at a cost of $1,100 per village. The teacher will be responsible for providing educational assistance after school and possibly on weekends for the children in the village. This $1,100 investment will enable the teacher to spend the next 2 years in the village, at a minimum, providing the much needed educational instruction.
To be involved in this new exciting venture, I need you to Give now, using our web portal or by sending us a check.
100% of what you give will be used on this initiative with nothing being held back, just memo your gift goats/cows or teacher, or better yet if you just memo holistic, I’ll put your gift wherever it is needed most.
Thanks so much for your help!!!
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Thursday, October 14th, 2010
If you are coming into this post not having read the previous 3, I suggest you go back then return to this in order for it all to gel.
While in India this past August traveling from village to village I sensed the need to be more involved or at least contribute more than just water. Don’t get me wrong, water is huge for these people, they know and understand that if they consume unclean water they are susceptible to sickness and unfortunately for their little one’s death can occur. Supplying safe water is a noble effort, at least that is what I have been told, I just do it because God told me too and I don’t get caught up in the nobility of it.
As I leave a village though after dedicating a project, I leave with a sense that more could be done if I just had the time and the resources. Seeing that I don’t have the resources I figured there wasn’t any time, after all I am a busy guy going from village to village, spending many a daylight hour traveling from place to place dedicating projects. The reality though is I can become so busy that I lose sight of the people and their concerns or their situation so I decided I need to slow down and make time. Now armed with a new resolve all I lack is the resource to become more involved in the places that I am bringing water.
I realize that I can’t spend great quantities of time in each place so I have resolved to plant myself, and when I say myself I am speaking of Wells for Life® and Father Dhana of DPWA, in 5 villages within the Trichy area and do what I can there to make a difference. We’ll meet their water need first then move into education and income generating activities. The plan is to be involved in 5 neighboring villages in similar forms for a minimum of 3 years and hopefully not to exceed 5; all with the goal of seeing a greater self reliance, improved education, stronger health as well as a sense of God’s love, care and concern for them as unique individuals created in His image.
Now how to get there – first I need your financial support, I love asking for money, really, I do, because I know the type of impact I can make with your investment. 95% is still our margin for gifts making into program related activities. Wells for Life® doesn’t exist to make money, it exists to make a monumental difference in the lives of the rural poor within India through maximizing every donation that is entrusted to us.
Here is what we want to initially invest in:
A teacher for a 2 year period to carry out health and hygiene education, disease prevention, pregnancy and infant children health education, and supplemental education for school age children all at a cost of $1500 per village.
So I need 5 people who want to invest in a village by providing $1500. At the end of the 2nd year the village will have enough money saved from their income producing enterprise to assume the salary for as long as they deem necessary.
Now for the income producing enterprise which we believe will help the villagers become self sufficient and break out of their poverty. Goats and cows, primarily goats but in some villages we want to introduce cows for their ability to produce milk which can be sold.
The form in which the goats will be introduced is through forming self help group comprising of 5 – 10 members each and each village consisting of 8 to 10 self help groups. If we can provide each member with 3 goats, have each member assume the cost for 1 of the goats then with time see the goats multiply as only goats can do, within a couple of years the herd will be huge and goats will be sold for a profit.
I know this seems farfetched and hard to believe or imagine and I still scratch my head when I hear about it but in all honesty goats can be very profitable, so profitable that college educations in India have been paid off of goats.
Milk cows are a little different, we aren’t going to see them reproduce numerically, just invest in their ability to produce large quantities of milk which the village can take to market and sell at a profit with proceeds being saved for assuming the salary of the community education teacher.
To invest in this venture on average we need $2,500 per village, so I am looking for individuals, families, school children, churches or businesses to go out on a limb and trust me with this goat and cow thing. Send me your money and tell me it’s for goats or cows and give me a few years and watch how your investment will grow and help set people free from the economic bondages that they have known for so long.
To get involved just click the GIVE button at the top of the page and in the memo or special instructions mark where you want your gift used.
Thanks for getting involved and helping us make a difference!
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