In developing countries around the world, a common sight is that of women and children carrying water buckets and walking for miles to get water from the closest water well. Such is also the case in Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country in which the United Nations said the water conditions are the third worst in the world as of 2012.
A Cup of Water International, a Korean non-profit organization that builds clean water wells, repairs broken water pumps, and shares the gospel with natives, is currently in Congo equipped with materials needed to build new wells in the villages.
A Cup of Water International arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo with equipment to begin building new, clean water wells in the villages.
“Congo doesn’t have the machines needed to dig water wells, so we use an easy method to dig up the wells,” said Jong-Seung Kwon, a missionary with A Cup of Water.
Kwon explained that twisting a hand auger in a clockwise direction breaks the hard ground, and allows the dirt to come up, making it easy to quickly dig a depth of 15 meters.
Providing clean water wells in countries such as Congo is important because it allows mothers to invest more time in nurturing their children by spending less time fetching water, and provides more opportunities for children to become properly educated as they no longer have to walk long distances to get water themselves.
Children still see the aftermaths of the harsh rule that Congo experienced under Belgium, during which millions of people died of oppression and exploitation, in the generation of their grandparents.
However, providing clean water wells along with the gospel is especially important in Congo because of its painful history of colonization under Belgium, Kwon said. The Belgian rule, which began with Belgian King Leopold II, lasted from the late 1870s up to 1960.
“Because of Leopold II’s selfish ambitions, thousands of people endured oppression and exploitation for decades,” he said. Some 10 million people died during the Belgian rule, and the current generation of children still see the aftermaths of the harsh period in their grandparents.
Along with providing clean water, A Cup of Water International hopes to show these children what true hope, love, and healing is in Jesus Christ, and asked for prayers for the restoration of Congo.
"Please pray that God's grace will be evident in Congo, a place with a broken past—that this place will become a land and nation who loves the Lord Jesus passionately until the day He returns.”
