Last year over $72,000 was raised in Australia through a project named Walk to Water. It helped supply many people in Nigeria with clean running water without having to walk many kilometres for low quality or diseased water.
For many women and children, this means an eight kilometre walk to the nearest water pump is their only option, a regular struggle that can take more than half a day. It’s not unusual for women to return from the borehole carrying two full jerry cans of water, weighing between 20 to 25 kilograms each. On many occasions, their children are carried as well, or come along to help.
The United Nations has estimated that the population of Sub-Saharan Africa spends 40 billion hours per year collecting water – that’s the same as more than two years’ worth of labour by Australia’s entire workforce.
Walk to Water is an initiative of Open Doors where churches and community groups participate in sponsored walks to raise funds.
The funds from the walks this year will once again be used in Northern Nigeria to build more deep boreholes in remote villages.
With a population of 158 million, Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest countries. Its people make up one seventh of the population of the entire continent. However, the area of Northern Nigeria is also an incredibly dangerous place to live as a Christian. Believers are regularly targeted by extremists, with their families, churches and businesses put in jeopardy because of their faith.
This morning during my radio program I spoke to Jeanette from Open Doors to find out what they’ve been able to achieve and what they’re hoping to do next. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.
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