Wings of Grace International
Madagascar Water Project
My name is Tasmin Keshavjee, and I'm the co-founder, president and primary field worker with Wings of Grace International, a tiny, Christian association based out of the Valais region of Switzerland. Our work began on Manda Island in the Lamu district of Kenya with a humble 20 tanks, in 2007. Since then, 5 other projects have been started - each tank has the words, 'Jesus Loves You' painted on them in the script and language of the area. Our work is on islands and near islands, all over the world - places which are often forgotten or ignored, because of the difficulty to reach them. God hasn't forgotten them...
Our Madagascar project which began in March 2011 with 22 water stations, is now in line for more water stations to meet their desperate need for clean drinking water. Thus far, we've raised approximately half of what we need. We have a target of at least 50 x 1000 litre water tanks, more if the money is available..
People drink muddy water collected in the oxcart ruts, as they have nowhere to get water from otherwise. The villages are in most cases, at least an hour away from the main road, making it more than difficult to go to an area where the water tanker has passed, especially during the rains. Clean drinking water is the most basic necessity of life, and our call is to help people on remote islands around the world, to be able to capture God's blessing of rain, for their daily use.
On our first distribution, we spread the tanks out as far and wide as possible - Often times, we estimated that 60-100 or more people would be sharing water from 1 tank.
Our aim is to increase the numbers of tanks in the areas we've already visited, and then start reaching unreached areas in the same region. If we reach our target or go beyond, we'd also like to start a new project in the mid-eastern part of the island, where a church congregation has asked for our help. Your donation will touch countless numbers of lives, to give them access to clean rainwater during the monsoon season, and tell them of Jesus' love in a very gentle way.
What We Need and What You Get
For 50 stations, we will need approximately 12,500 euros including transport of the tanks. We try to use existing structures with iron sheets to maximise the money we spend on tanks, but there are times we find ourselves in villages where only grass roofs exist - and so we supply them with 2 iron sheets. Everyone receives a gutter in order to direct the water into the tank.
Transport to the area is another cost that we have to take into account. On my last trip, due to restricted funds, I used bush taxi's to transport myself and the iron sheets to our drop off point. A trip that should take approx. 1hr took 4.5hrs. The possibility of getting a private vehicle for a day would allow us to go further and get the work done with greater ease.
Our perks are quite invisible, but carry a lot of weight! The money that comes in is used to help people be able to harvest rainwater. These people are grateful for our help, they thank us and they pray for us..It's more valuable than you can imagine!
If we don't reach our goal, the money will remain in our account until we are able to do what we aim to do. If we get more than we hoped for, the extra money will be used to either boost or start another project.
The Impact
With 50 new water stations, at least a thousand lives will be affected. We try to maximise the amount we do on each trip, in order to touch as many lives as possible at one time.
Thus far, we have placed 143 tanks on Manda Island in Kenya, 100 tanks on Bet Dwarka in Gujarat Province, India, 70 tanks on Sigulu Island, Uganda, 22 tanks in the Tulear District of Madagascar, 33 tanks in the Bunyala District in Western Kenya, and 33 tanks on Aitutaki in the Cook Islands - thus far a total of 401 water stations in 6 areas.
Other Ways You Can Help
If finances are not available at the moment, please let others know about our campaign and ask them to pass it on. The more who know, the greater the possibilty of reaching our goal!
Remember to use the Indiegogo share tools!
