When the Samaritan woman went to the well that day she got more than she bargained for. Jesus' initial request for a simple drink of water led to her town's total transformation.
On this World Water Day (22 March), water is still changing lives. In the UK we take access to clean water for granted, but for 900 million people around the world a drink of water is out of reach. And half the girls in sub-Saharan Africa who drop out of primary school do so because of poor water and sanitation facilities.
If the need for clean water and decent sanitation could be met, it would quench more than the initial thirst: access to water and sanitation can unlock material and spiritual transformation for whole communities.
Wude Osman knows the power of water well. Wude is the mother of two beautiful young daughters in the Ethiopian village of Jama. Before clean water came to her village she had to walk 90 minutes each way to a stream, queuing for as long as six hours to collect water insufficient to meet her family's basic needs. And the water was often dirty because lack of toilets had caused people to go by the river.
But in the past seven years, Tearfund local church partner Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC) has provided seven new water points in Jama.
Having clean water in the centre of the community has allowed life to start flowing again for Wude and her family. Easy access has freed up hours of the time she used to spend walking and waiting.When her husband died of Aids related illness she continued to run a small restaurant to provide income. But three years ago she discovered that she too was living with HIV. Because her health was failing, she could no longer run the business.
