Written by Global Grants Team
The Global Grants Initiative is dedicated to investing in the holistic wellbeing of people living in underserved communities in Mexico, Haiti, India, and East Africa. We support various NGO’s efforts to create safe and healthy communities that thrive through mindful leadership practices.
One of our partners in East Africa is Bible Society of Kenya, who is implementing a project in Embu County for people addicted to harmful substances and their caretakers. The overall goal of this project is to improve the lives of people in addiction and their households by preventing abuse of alcohol and drugs, improving mental wellness, and providing knowledge and skills for livelihoods using a Bible-based trauma healing approach.
“One day after it had rained, we realized that we were standing on wet ground, but we didn’t even have water to wash ourselves.” – Rev. Dickson
Reverend Dickson and his son, loving called The Engineer, are both graduates of Bible Society of Kenya’s substance abuse intervention program in Embu County, Kenya. Their homes sit on a hill near a dirt road, which turns into a stream during the rainy season. Several years ago, they noticed three problems: the road running downhill was starting to wash out, their community did not have access to sufficient water for their farms and households, and many youths in the community felt a lack of purpose in their life and were turning to substances as a result.
They started devising a water harvesting plan to address all three issues, using simple tools to dig deep holes (water pans) connected by channels that slowly filter silt and debris until the water reaches the final water pan near the home, so that the cleanest water is available to use. The land there is rocky and dense with trees, so after digging 20ft into the earth, they plant bamboo along the water scheme to prevent erosion, and they use unearthed rocks to construct buildings on their property.
As youth from the community participate in the ongoing construction of the water scheme, providing labor or meals to improve their community, they are finding joy in having a purpose and learning that God has given us all we need in the world he created. As The Engineer put it, “our hill is God’s iron sheet,” referring to the metal roofing that allows water to run off and be collected in gutters.
“our hill is God’s iron sheet,” – The Engineer
Reverend Dickson’s vision and work is a reminder to us that we don’t need to wait for the newest, most expensive solution to many of the challenges we face from climate change. This Earth Day, think about what challenges are facing your community, and what resources has God already provided for you to resolve those problems?
