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Kakholi Village Has a Deep Water Well for Christmas


Last Christmas, over one hundred school children and their families did not have clean water in the remote cluster of five villages near the school in Kakholi, Malawi, where over 2,000 people live. 

Statistically, 1 out of 5 children under 5 in Malawi get deathly sick from water-borne diseases. Many of them die for lack of medication and sanitation. 
The lack of clean water in Kakholi caught the attention of WorldHope Corps last year after we distributed anti-malaria mosquito nets nearby.  WorldHope Corps Malawi Program Director, Dennis Singini, assessed and selected Kakholi, Malawi, for the next deep water village wel—as soon as a new sponsor could be found. WorldHope Corps has drilled 64 village wells since 2007, and we were determined to find the next sponsor for Village Well Number 65 so that the 2000+ people in the cluster of five villages, including a hundred school children, could drink clean water this Christmas.
My 91+ year-old father, Val Christensen, and mother Millie Christensen (who turned 90 on December 16), desired to sponsor the next village well in Malawi.   During his 40-year career in Higher Education, Dad was Professor of Chemistry and Academic VP at Point Loma Nazarene University.  Mom taught Second Grade and created a loving home for our family of five. Over the years, they had supported other WorldHope Corps programs, including our Hope Tailoring School and Hope Scholarships for youth.  This year, they wanted to sponsor a village well, and  Kakholi was in need of one.

The new village well was installed in October 2017, and I was able to visit the village and school soon after it was completed. There I met Elijah Mkwate, the village teacher, and Glanson Mruncha, one of the local village chiefs, who described to me how far women and children had to walk to fetch water from the nearest stream.  And what a difference it made to have deep water well near the school, and how thankful they were.

Our WorldHope Corps community development training team (Dr. Doug Smith, Dr. Caroline Njuki, Rev. Michele Robbins) joined me at Kakholi to visit the school and dedicate the new village well for common good.   After I personally tested and took a drink of fresh water pumped by a child from the aquifer deep within the earth, Rev. Michele Robbins prayed over and sprinkled 'holy water' from the living well over all who gathered round to witness the community event.  Then we visited the classrooms were 85 children (first through sixth grade) that day were attending school near the well.  They were so happy to see us and show us their schoolwork.

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This Christmas over 2000 people in the cluster of five villages around Kakholi benefit from this new deep well. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for providing good clean water to these kids and their families!  I am grateful to all the Friends of WorldHope Corps for contributing our village well fund, sponsoring a well, or supporting one of core programs or special projects.  Thank you, and Merry Christmas to all!






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