Dear Friends of ACTS,
Shalom! As COVID subsides and life begins to slowly return to normal, the ACTS ministry too has begun to blossom and take on a new start.
Spring is a season for new beginnings, and this Spring we are very happy to announce that the “Living Water” project was completed in Togo late last year in 2021. Ready access to the flow of clean water when one turns on a faucet is a luxury that many people do not think twice about. However, in many parts of Africa, such as Togo, children are deprived of an education because they need to spend 3-4 hours daily to obtain clean water. Some villages are plagued with a generational curse of disease and sickness due to the lack of clean water. Agriculture also suffers in many of these villages due to the dry and aridness of the land as plants and livestock wither without sufficient water. However, the precious and much needed supply of fresh clean water from the wells of the Living Water project will bring about a new hope and beginning for the people and land of Togo.
The “Living Water” project was made possible through the collaboration between ACTS and the Step 30 of Taiwan, a ministry in Eastern Africa that is famous for used shoes and clothes fundraising for the needed African places. Back in March of 2018 Pastor James Wang and Brother Yu-Jen Yang, the founder of Step 30, met at the Lausanne Young Leader Gathering Conference which was held on Jeju Island, South Korea. This meeting sparked the beginning of a new friendship where East meets West. In 2019, when Brother Yu-jen visited River of Life Church in the Bay Area, he got to know ACTS better and shared about the “Living Water” project, which is a water well drilling project that he has been a part of in the past few years, which provided many deprived regions of Eastern Africa with clean water. In 2021 Step 30 invited ACTS to partner with them to expand the “Living Water” project into Western Africa in hope to improve the living conditions of the people in West Africa by providing them with accessible clean water.
After much discussion, they decided to drill the first “Living Water” water well in the town of Wathidome in Togo, where River of Life also had a daughter church. After sharing the plan with our local coworkers and arriving at a consensus with the local government and regional leadership, the process of locating a reliable water source and drilling a well began with much anticipation from the local community for the completion of the project will greatly improve the overall quality of life and living conditions.
The process of drilling the well went very smoothly, which took about 3 months to complete. Everyone was ecstatic and elated when they first saw the first signs of clean water flowing out of the faucet when turned on. Now that clean water is readily available whenever needed, the children can finally have the option to pursue education because they no longer need to spend 3-4 hours daily in pursuit of clean water. As a result, the entire educational level of the villages will see an improvement. Furthermore, clean water will also lessen the amount of illness and sickness by about 70-80% due to improved overall personal hygiene. Naturally, many regular and agricultural businesses will also benefit from an accessible and clean water source, which in turn will also help boost the economy.
After the drilling of the well is completed, the local leadership along with the leadership of the church will oversee the integrity of the well and obtain a small maintenance fee from the members of the community, which will go towards funding for maintaining the well. This principle also complies with the spirit of ACTS of pursuing self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
God’s timing is always perfect for when the Living Water project began the ACTS-TOGO team simultaneously launched their new agricultural program. With the availability of this new curriculum, the school will prepare and provide the necessary training to enable its students to become great agriculturalists who will pave the way for an agricultural revolution. In the coming years, it will be interesting to see how the regions influenced by the Living Water project will flourish as they undergo an agricultural makeover. What a sight to behold!
Praise the Lord, through the collaboration of ACTS and Step 30 ministry, the first of many wells has been drilled. The partnership plans to drill at least one well annually in neighboring regions of Togo, so that all members of the community can have ready access to clean fresh water. We hope that all future projects will go as smoothly as this one. May the Love of the Lord continuously flow into the hearts of each member of the community as clean water flows from each of these wells.
We sincerely invite you to continue to walk with us in Prayers and Donations, Forward! Africa, Forward Love! Support ACTS