Today I travel by car from Rwanda to Uganda. I have had the most wonderful time in Kigali and i’m sad to leave, but I know I will be back one day. It is a place of community and and bring so much joy to me. Community is something we can find all over the world. Even here in Kigali, I have randomly run into several of my friends from back in the states when going out to dinner or for coffee. It suddenly makes the world so small… great feeling.
I have been posting a series i’ve been working on at this site : http://www.flickr.com/photos/estherhavens
More stories will be posted in the days to come. Thank you all for your emails and support
2 Comments »
I can’t tell you how exciting it was to see water spewing up from the ground below. The digging began yesterday as Living Water set out to dig a water well for Charity:Water
The area only had a few gross ponds with brown water that people walked miles to get to. They are now digging 4 Charity:Water Pumps in the area for people to get to clean water. We met a young boy named Jean Bosco who shared his story with us. We followed him on his daily water walk a few times as he got water for the animals, bathing, clothes washing and for cooking and drinking. All from the same dirty pond. We have been back a few days and are all slowly getting to know him and his brothers. Tomorrow is the most exciting of all the days because Jean Bosco won’t have to walk to a dirty pond any longer, he will be walking to a water pump and getting crystal clean water that both he and I can drink. Wishing Well will be putting together a documentary film of this story and I will soon have a photo slideshow of the everything from beginning to end. I have so much to be thankful for. I am ready to pick up and move to Rwanda because it’s so beautiful here. hopefully one day.
Also, we met up with Ben Affleck at Bourbon Coffee in Kigali and shared the vision of Wishing Well.
1 Comment »
Yesterday, we went with Living Water to visit the water wells they have recently dug. They dig over 100 meters deep to hit the water with these 30 ton trucks. Its is the most beautiful thing to see kids laughing in playing in water that I can drink. We showed up at one water pump that had just been finished the day before. We walked along the path to the community water they had before. We came upon a stream about 2 feet wide of dark, brown, nasty water full of bacteria and waterborne diseases. When they first said to try the water form the pump, I was shocked ? You mean to say the water is clean enough for me to drink ? I won’t get a parasite ? Here I am sharing water with the community. How many of you have been overseas and have to brush your teeth with bottled water rather than the tap water ? Here we are sharing the water that God has given us. It is a site that brought tears to my eyes. Their lives are forever changed because of this well.. women who would have walked for hours and hours a day just to get brown water to survive have clean, filtered, fresh water straight from the ground below. It must take some getting used to.. since they go from gritty, mineral tasting creek to water that is clear and has no taste. haha.. but it’s a good thing.
This next week we are headed to more water sites. We will be visiting and photographing the next 4 wells that Charity Water is digging in Rwanda through Living Water and working on some stories around the area.
So much to be done.. and an amazing organization doing it : http://www.water.cc
1 Comment »
What a Blessed week I’ve had. To be with such amazing talent and gifts astounds me. Here are 6 College kids on a mission to provide clean water to those in need. That is just the surface of it though, it continues to go deeper and deeper and deeper as I am getting to know each one of them. It’s so beautiful to work with a team and have each one of us use our gifts for a project. I hear so many times from people ” but I don’t have a talent”. Not everybody is going to be an artist or musician. For some of us our talent is in bookkeeping, or leading or writing. I am looking at each of the roles these 6 take and i could not do a single of one of them, nor any of them my job. They all align perfectly for a greater purpose.
I arrived in Kigali to beautiful bright faces, excited for the days to come. After a day of getting to know each other, we set out to the eastern province of Rwanda with Food for the Hungry to visit water sites. I had thought were going to be visitin working water wells, but were taking to the areas most in need. We would stop our van and set out on foot to a small pond of sorts. Along the path, people with yellow jugs called Jerry Cans would pass us by on foot and bike. They get to the pond of bacteria, dirt and scum and fill up their can to take the long walk back to their houses. Many of the would do this several times a day because they NEED water. The nastiness of this water….. it’s not even something you would let your kids anywhere near out of fear of disease and they DRINK it. But i guess I would too if I had no other options of water. It’s a daily necessity we all need.
I wish my gifting was in words sometimes, but that gifting has been given to another – Taylor.. truly a talent. If you have the time, i’d love for you to read a moment by moment journal of our trip to Rwanda at the wishing well site: http://www.wishingwellafrica.com/journal.php
There is so much more to say, but I’ll have to wait until I have a better internet connection. I should be able to post some images tomorrow.
Thank you for your prayers and emails you send me. They truly bring joy to my day.
Know that you are blessed.
-Esther
1 Comment »
This week has been beyond anything I could have ever dreamed or imagined. I was welcomed into Cairo by one of the most hospitable families i’ve ever come across. They welcomed me into their home and claimed me as their own. Each day was filled with travel to the locations that my heart desired. The connections were made left and right and one day after another I found myself deeper and deeper into the lives of those around me. I spent time in the Trash Dump, Helwen, and the Trash City, Mokaatum. People in Mokaatum have become Millionaires from the recycling plants they have built. They set out during the day collecting the cities trash and bring it back to their homes to sift through with their families. They find anything that is salvageable and the rest is given to the pigs in the backyard. I am in love with these people. They have so little but they have everything. It is something that we can all learn from . I will write more as I process everything i’ve been through this week. Right now i’m in Kenya, waiting for my flight to Rwanda where I will be meeting up with the Wishing Well crew and set on the next phase of this journey.
BLessings to all of you,
esther
3 Comments »
I arrived safely yesterday and Cairo has been nothing short of Incredible!
After relaxing on the Nile last night, we woke up and went to the Pyramids and rode a camel in the desert for hours.
I attached a few photos for you to view. More stories coming. So much happening this week!! exciting!
lots of love,
Esther
4 Comments »
