CrossCatholic.org/Lent

PROPOSAL

Water for LifeLenten Outreach to Deepen Faith

and Save Lives— Kenya —

INTERNATIONALPROJECT 3080

What Is Living Water?When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, he said he could give her “Living Water” (John 4:10).

At first, the woman did not understand his meaning and began to ask many questions. For her, water had been a source of unending toil — a struggle to fill heavy jars day after day. She probably couldn’t imagine water being an eternal source of life and blessing because her own experiences utterly contradicted what Christ was saying.

Weary communities in Kenya’s Diocese of Machakos and Archdiocese of Mombasa would probably feel the same way. The only water they are familiar with has been a source of constant strife, sickness and even death. Each day, women like Gladys Mghoi (page 2) have been risking their lives, rising before dawn and braving many dangers to reach the nearest water source. They walk miles, wait in long lines, and finally fill their worn, old jerrycans with murky water from trickling streams and ground holes.

So how are they to think of water as a source of eternal life?

Father Fabian Hevi often encounters this question as he works to bring safe water to weary villagers. “Christ is the Living Water,” he says. “People who don’t have water will go to church and hear that and say, ‘What does that mean?’”

Cross Catholic Outreach has a long-standing partnership with Fr. Fabian. In the Diocese of Lodwar, we helped him build 27 wells, which brought clean water to 83,000 people. In southern Kenya, we have also helped him complete six water systems, which now serve 50,724 people.

Today, we are again collaborating with Fr. Fabian to help communities gain access to clean water — and in doing so, increase their experience with Christ as our Living Water. Read on to learn how your parish, school or group can participate in this Lenten outreach to bless 67,177 people in 10 villages with much-needed physical and spiritual refreshment!

Fr. Fabian is at work again to share clean water — and the Living Water of Christ — with those in need.

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Program Summary

Join us this Lenten season to share Water for Life with Kenyan families in need!

CLEAN WATER With your help, Fr. Fabian will collaborate with village parishes to install 10 community water systems. The parishes will also host water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training sessions, which will help villagers protect their health and preserve the purity of their wells for generations to come.

HEALING AND HOPE With access to safe water, villagers will improve their health and be free to focus on meaningful activities such as agriculture, education and income generation. They will also have more time to attend Mass and participate in parish activities.

How you can get involved:By engaging in meaningful fundraising activities, your parish, school or group can provide clean water for

communities that frequently suffer from drought and waterborne diseases. Water for Life will challenge families to apply the three pillars of Lent — prayer, fasting and almsgiving — to deepen their faith and serve others.

What we’re doing:Cross Catholic Outreach is giving U.S.

Catholic parishes, schools and groups free tools to invigorate their Lenten observances with an engaging project to demonstrate mercy toward the poor.

Who will be helped:Your participation will provide safe,

clean water for 67,177 people in 10 communities between the Diocese of Machakos and the Archdiocese of Mombasa in southern Kenya.

Our partner:Good Samaritan Water Sanitation

Services, a nonprofit organization founded by Father Fabian Hevi.

Why your help is urgently needed:Every day, women and children are

walking long miles and braving many dangers to collect contaminated water that often makes them sick. This exhausting chore consumes much of their day, leaving little time to regularly attend Mass, school or other activities that could improve their lives.

What this project will accomplish:You will share God’s mercy with dry, thirsty communities by providing:

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Table of ContentsPROGRAM SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

SECTION I THE NEED A Grandmother’s Fight for Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Key Facts: Poverty, Health and the Water Crisis in Kenya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

SECTION II THE PLAN A Mission for Life: Fr. Fabian’s Calling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Our Partner: Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Blessings Flow: How Water Can Transform Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

SECTION III PLEASE HELP NOW Tools for Lenten Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Give Living Water for Lent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Giving Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

In the village of Mokine, Agnes and her neighbors walk nearly 2 miles to collect water from contaminated canals and muddy ground holes.

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SECTION I

THE NEED• A Grandmother’s Fight for Water

• Key Facts: Poverty, Health and the Water Crisis in Kenya

Father Boniface, the parish priest in Tawa, helps villagers collect water. With your help, Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services can empower local priests to facilitate successful water projects in their communities.

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Gladys and her grandchildren often spend their entire morning collecting water to meet their daily needs.

A Grandmother’s Fight for WaterGladys Mghoi is helping to raise her 13 grandchildren in Mokine, a small village situated in the Archdiocese of

Mombasa. Every morning, she wakes up at around 4 a.m. to start the long and arduous process of collecting water for the day.

In Gladys’ simple home, there is no tap to turn or water to flow. To quench the thirst of her grandchildren, she must instead walk nearly 2 miles to a dry riverbed. There, villagers dig a hole and wait for water to seep up from the ground, and families stand in line for about 90 minutes to take a turn filling containers with muddy water from the pit. The walk home with this “reward” is even harder because their jerrycans are now heavy with contaminated water.

Because of Gladys’ age and health, her older grandchildren usually assist with this exhausting process — and they make costly sacrifices to do so. Water collection often takes so long that the children either arrive late to class or miss school altogether. In addition, the lack of fresh water hinders crop production, making it difficult for Gladys’ farming family to earn an income and pay school fees.

“Sometimes there is no rain,” the grandmother explains. “There is nothing on the farms, so it is difficult even to get money to send them to school.”

The family’s struggle to collect water is costing the children their education and, potentially, their future. It is also impacting the family’s health. The water they collect is often polluted by bacteria, parasites and chemical runoff from local farms. An unhealthy level of sodium carbonate, or soda ash, also taints the groundwater, and this is yet another source of the villagers’ illnesses.

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“We collect water which is very, very dirty, and then it will become very difficult for us and very unhealthy for our consumption,” says Gladys. “This water is very dirty. It is very murky. At the same time, because we have no option, we have to drink it the way it is.”

There are other physical dangers as well. Because it is still dark when Gladys and her grandchildren leave to collect water, pitfalls and predators add an extra element of danger to the journey.

“It is not very safe for me as an elderly person, and so, since there is no alternative, we have to risk our lives,” Gladys explains. “Sometimes because of my weakness, I can fall down because of my age. Sometimes there are also wild animals [such as] hyenas within the area.”

Securing basic human necessities should never cost a family their health and safety, but tragically, Gladys’ challenges are common for many poor villagers who dwell in southern Kenya.

These families need access to safe water. Their very lives depend on it. Surely God wants us to respond to this urgent need and deliver them from these hardships!

“Water is very important. Water is life, you know? Even animals and birds, they depend on this particular fresh water. So water is life, and therefore, to me, it is everything.”

GLADYS MGHOI

KEY FACTS: POVERTY, HEALTH AND THE WATER CRISIS IN KENYA

• About 32% of Kenyans do not have access to improved water sources.

• Nearly 70% of the population does not have access to proper sanitation, contaminating the water supply with human waste.

• The degree of risk for major infectious diseases is considered “very high.” Common threats include waterborne diseases such as bilharzia, bacterial diarrhea and typhoid fever, as well as mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever

• 41% of Kenyan children under 5 are anemic due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies — conditions worsened by frequent bouts of bacterial diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.

• Alternate periods of flooding and prolonged drought create water insecurity, damage crops and inflict famine.

• Kenya’s economy relies predominantly on agriculture, which contributes over one-third of the GDP. Roughly 75% of the people earn at least a portion of their income through farming.

• More than 36% of Kenyans live on less than $1.90 a day.

Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Health Organization and the World Bank

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Bernard Kioko, 10, gathers water from a polluted river about 9 miles from his village. With clean water systems in their villages, children would be healthier, happier and have more time for school.

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SECTION II

THE PLAN• A Mission for Life: Fr. Fabian’s Calling

• Our Partner: Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services

• Blessings Flow: How Water Can Transform Communities

Christopher Mumo fills his jerrycan with clean water from the kiosk in his community. Fr. Fabian wants to share this blessing with 10 other communities that remain in desperate need.

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A Mission for Life:Fr. Fabian’s Calling

After more than 30 years in the priesthood, Fr. Fabian has only become more ardent in his passion for sharing God’s mercy. Originally from Ghana, he was first sent to Kenya by the Society of African Missionaries in 2002. It was there he discovered one of his life’s greatest callings: bringing water to people who had none.

“That is one of my biggest dreams. Everyone should have access to clean and good water,” Fr. Fabian says. “There should be a day where everyone has access to good water. Just like we have to have air, we have to have water to survive.”

Meeting Urgent NeedsOver the course of six years, Fr. Fabian collaborated with Cross Catholic Outreach to complete water relief

projects for 83,000 people in 27 villages throughout the Diocese of Lodwar. In 2018, he founded his own nonprofit, Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services, so that he could share the same blessing with any diocese in Kenya.

Since then, Fr. Fabian has focused his attention on a dry, 275-mile stretch of land that lies between the Diocese of Machakos and the Archdiocese of Mombasa. So far, he has worked with Cross Catholic Outreach to complete six water systems, which now serve 50,724 people in this region. Today, he is working to help 10 additional communities. When Fr. Fabian first enters a new community to assess its situation, he begins by asking a simple question.

“You start by asking, ‘What do you need?’” Fr. Fabian says. “Most of the time water is the first on their list.”

Sharing Christ Through WaterAccording to Fr. Fabian, meeting a community’s most critical need — water — is the perfect way to share the

love of God. Many families have had little time to attend church because collecting water consumes so much of their day. Fr. Fabian chooses to work through local parishes, empowering priests to care for their communities by overseeing water projects and appointing village water committees. This work strengthens the relationship between the people and their parish, and many experience a deeper understanding of the abundant life that is

available to them in Christ.

Many immediate benefits become apparent once communities gain access to clean water. Improved health and revived faith are often two of the first to reveal themselves.

“It saves the lives of most of these children. It also helps the spirituality of the people, giving them time to go to church,” Fr. Fabian explains. “Priests call thanking you, saying, ‘You can’t imagine how many people are attending Mass!’”

Fr. Fabian knows what the power of clean water can do. It conquers diseases. It transforms communities. It refreshes faith. Sharing this conviction, Cross Catholic Outreach is committed to helping our devoted partner provide water systems for 90 communities in southern Kenya. This Lent, your compassionate action can help bless and transform 10 of these communities with clean water.

“The suffering of the people, for me, is the voice of God.”

FR. FABIAN

Fr. Fabian, founder of Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services.

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Our Partner: Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services

Fr. Fabian launched Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services in order to bless communities throughout Kenya with clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene education. Founded on the teachings of Christ, the organization derives its identity from two passages of Scripture highlighting what acts of mercy can accomplish.

Fittingly, one of these passages is the parable of the Good Samaritan. The second passage is found in John 4, where Christ converses with a Samaritan woman. In that story, Jesus spoke both to the woman’s thirst for water and to her yearning for a more meaningful way of life. He made it clear that the abundant life she desired was available to her through his grace.

Looking to these verses for inspiration, Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services wants to model the Gospel by sharing mercy with 10 communities in the Diocese of Machakos and the Archdiocese of Mombasa this year. With access to clean water systems, a total of 67,177 people will finally be able to pursue a more hopeful way of life. Once the systems are complete, communities will receive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training, as well as agricultural training. These workshops will help them prevent disease, maintain the longevity of their water systems, and apply their new water resources in ways that are productive and efficient.

Village Adults ChildrenTotal

Population

Matiliku 9,119 11,289 20,408

Mavindini 4,682 7,026 11,708

Mulala 2,360 1,430 3,790

Nguluni 1,750 2,750 4,500

Tawa 6,569 2,194 8,763

Total 24,350 26,719 51,069

Village Adults ChildrenTotal

Population

Bura 2,300 3,048 5,348

Majengo 1,900 3,500 5,400

Marungu 1,000 1,200 2,200

Mokine 1,150 1,210 2,360

Orkung’u 1,156 1,544 2,700

Total 7,506 10,502 18,008

Diocese of Machakos Archdiocese of Mombasa

Meet Our Projects ManagerAs an international projects manager with Cross Catholic

Outreach, Rebecca Riccitello oversees our projects in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. With a master’s degree from the University of London, three years in the Peace Corps and experience managing development programs for USAID in South Sudan, she knows what effective, sustainable relief projects look like — and she recognizes those qualities in Fr. Fabian’s programs.

According to Rebecca, the water systems installed by Fr. Fabian’s projects have endured through seasons of prolonged drought. In times of environmental crisis, many other wells are too shallow to reach the water table. By drilling 200 meters into the ground and using solar-powered pumps when necessary, Fr. Fabian’s approach helps ensure a lasting solution.

Rebecca leads a WASH training session to help communities protect their water supplies and their health.

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Blessings Flow: How Water Can Transform Communities

When families gain access to clean water, other areas of their lives naturally improve. These include:

HEALTH Clean water systems protect families against waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and bilharzia. They also free women and children from having to make dangerous journeys that leave them vulnerable to harassment, assault and attacks from wild animals.

EDUCATION With easy access to a safe drinking source, children won’t miss school in order to search for water. No longer battling waterborne diseases, they will also be better able to tend to their studies and perform their very best in class. With an education, they will be equipped to access profitable opportunities and find freedom from poverty.

AGRICULTURE With clean water for their crops and livestock, farming families can improve their food security. Once the water systems are completed, communities will receive agricultural training in order to increase their production and crop diversity.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Construction projects (for example, repairing or rebuilding crumbling homes) rely on water for cement-making, among other things. Accessible, abundant sources of water will make it easier for communities to pursue important improvement projects.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION Church attendance is often one of the first things to improve once families gain access to a safe source of water. With more available time, they will be free to participate in parish activities. Their faith will also be refreshed as they rejoice over their answered prayers for water.

Water Systems Will Include:• 200-meter-deep borehole • Grundfos solar water pumps • GF-80 solar panels

• Elevated 10,000-liter tank • Water kiosk (dispenser unit)

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Joyce Shuaka, a mother of four, walks more than 12 miles to reach the water source nearest to her home in Orkung’u.

SECTION III

PLEASE HELP NOW• Tools for Lenten Outreach

• Give Living Water for Lent

• Giving Opportunities

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Working together as the Church, we can provide dry communities with safe, clean water systems such as the one pictured here. If they are able, families typically pay about 20 shillings (or nearly 2 cents) for each 20-liter jerrycan of water they fill. The community invests these funds in the maintenance and upkeep of their water system.

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Tools for Lenten OutreachTo help you engage your parishioners, students or members and

communicate Kenya’s critical need for water, Cross Catholic Outreach provides the following free promotional tools upon request.

• Activity Guide for ChildrenThe guide helps teachers and parents lead children through the

spiritual journey of the Lenten season while ministering to many thousands of people along the way. It is tailored specifically for Catholic schools and spiritual formation programs and is based on the readings of the liturgical calendar.

• Bulletin InsertUse this insert to educate and involve your

parishioners, students or members. This piece briefly explains the program and shows how individuals and families can get involved. It is designed to fit in a weekly parish bulletin, but can also be distributed as a flyer.

• PosterThis compelling poster is an excellent tool for

communicating your mission. It can also be used to advertise your activities to the surrounding community, further increasing participation and sharing your vision with neighborhoods in your area.

ACTIVITY GUIDE

BULLETIN INSERT

POSTER

After the water systems are complete, participating parishes, schools and groups will also receive an update and video to share how lives have been transformed.

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To water his family’s cows, Samson Ole Sintau, 9, walks about 6 miles to reach Lake Jipe in the Archdiocese of Mombasa. With clean water systems in their communities, families would not only have safe water to drink but also would have enough water for growing food and tending their animals.

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Give Living Water for LentFollowing the traditional three pillars of Lent — praying, fasting and almsgiving — we encourage your

parish, school or group to share God’s mercy with poor Kenyan communities in need of safe water.

PRAY — Encourage your parishioners, students or members to pray for families around the world who lack access to basic essentials such as clean water. Specifically, pray for impoverished communities in southern Kenya, asking that God would meet their needs and reveal his love.

FAST — Christ gave up his life for us, so many Catholics make sacrifices to honor him at Lent. When we “give up” something, it puts us in an even better position to “give to” those in need! Choose something to fast from for 40 days so you can bless the poor and focus your heart in prayer.

GIVE — Give much-needed financial support to provide clean water for families that have suffered for far too long. When you give your parishioners, students or members the opportunity to support Water for Life, they will experience the full blessing of the Lenten season in a deeply personal and fulfilling way.

By participating in Water for Life, you will lift heavy burdens from weary shoulders — and forever transform lives in the process. The gift of water you provide will end families’ painful battle with waterborne diseases. It will enhance food security by bolstering agriculture. It will give villagers more time to attend school and Mass and to focus on improving their situations. Through your compassion, the gift of water can bring restoration and spiritual refreshment to entire communities!

Joyce’s family risks their health and safety to collect water from a polluted lake. Your compassion can change that.

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Moses Mutua, 6, and his brother Jonathan, 4, help collect water for their family in Tawa. Women and children in Tawa often walk incredible distances to quench their thirst.

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Giving OpportunitiesLenten Challenge Sponsor $26,752 will provide clean water for 2,200 villagers

If your parish, school or group is ready for a Lenten challenge, you can provide clean water for all 2,200 people in the village of Marungu in the Archdiocese of Mombasa. Any amount you can donate will be greatly

appreciated! You can also be a blessing by participating at the following giving levels:

Amount Needed to Complete 10 Community Water Systems: $840,000

Water for Life Sponsor $12,160 will provide clean water for 1,000 villagers

Abundant Water Sponsor $6,080 will provide clean water for 500 villagers

Wells of Salvation Sponsor $1,216 will provide clean water for 100 villagers

Living Water Sponsor $608 will provide clean water for 50 villagers

Philomena Wanza, 15, fills her bucket at a shallow ground hole in the village of Mokine. She and her neighbors walk about 2 miles to collect this muddy water.

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Our Promise to You!Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2021,

the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.

Our MissionWe mobilize the global Catholic Church to transform the poor and their communities materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ.

How We Serve Rather than create new institutions to distribute aid, we support existing ministries and churches already serving the poor. In addition to being the most cost-effective way of helping the poor, empowering these ministries allows us to support the Church’s spiritual mission and its important position of leadership in poor communities.

Good Stewardship We consider every gift we receive as a precious resource from God. We direct every donation to its intended project, provide honest and accurate reports to our donors, and keep overhead costs to an industry low. We handle funds with utmost integrity and hold our ministry partners in the field to the same high standards by asking them to document costs and the impact of their outreach. These detailed accountability measures have earned us ongoing accreditation by the following organizations:

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