Imagine walking two miles with 65 pounds weighing down on your head.
Photo provided
The Cayuga-Syracuse and Pyongyang Presbyteries are raising money to construct two new wells in the Blantyre area of Malawi in Africa.
The Cayuga-Syracuse and Pyongyang Presbyteries are raising money to construct two new wells in the Blantyre area of Malawi in Africa.
Women in Blantyre, Malawi don't suffer through this exhausting feat of strength for fun. They do it for survival.
Eight gallons of water make up that weight, and many women in Blantyre walk up to two miles to gather it from the two wells that work in their vicinity. The wells serve 1,200 families who had previously collected water from four wells, but two have failed and only recently was one working well repaired.
The other well is in danger of drying out.
“People start coming in at daybreak and come all day to get water, so the well's in constant use and we're afraid it could fatigue,” said Linda Russell of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Auburn.
Russell and her church are part of a cross-continental effort by the Korean Partnership Mission and Ministry Team - comprised of the Cayuga-Syracuse and Pyongyang Presbyteries - to provide the funds to construct two new wells in the Blantyre area. Each Presbytery is seeking to raise $6,000 to pay for the set-up of each well.
“When I've shared this story with people personally, I've been moved by their attentiveness and their willingness to respond,” Russell said.
The Westminster Presbyterian Church connects to the plight of Blantyre, Malawi through one man: Reverend Harvey Sindima, who arrived in Auburn as an interim pastor at the church in 1998.
The congregation learned about the hardships facing Sindima's homeland of Blantyre during his brief one-and-a-half year tenure in Auburn. His parents adopted a few of the countless youth orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Malawi and provided the children with clothing, shelter and education. The endeavor eventually grew into the Blantyre North Relief Project, which today cares for about 700 orphans in the area.
In recent years, droughts have ravaged Malawi and spurred food shortages when crops failed to flourish without water. The scarcity of water is a problem that persists to this day, as Blantyre's residents struggle to collect it from their two wells.
The Westminster Church has learned of the grave conditions currently facing Blantyre by keeping in touch with Sindima as he continues to serve as a clergy member with the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse. The Pyongyang Presbytery has similarly discovered the danger through Blantyre, who was a founding member of the Korean Partnership.
In September, members of the partnership contacted Sindima's sister, Blantyre North Relief Project on-site manager Rabeccah Michembo, about providing additional wells to the area.
“She couldn't believe the question came when it did because they found themselves in a crisis,” Russell said.
The Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery is currently hoping to collect and wire the $6,000 for its well by Christmas. Each donation is directed toward the well fund in full.
The presbytery hopes the generosity of the season will spill over and supply additional funds to build a school in the Blantyre area. Russell is optimistic both the American and Korean Presbyteries will pull together to provide Sindima's homeland with the help it needs.
“They're moved because they know Harvey and we're moved because we love Harvey,” Russell said. “The spirit moves in strange ways.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
Eight gallons of water make up that weight, and many women in Blantyre walk up to two miles to gather it from the two wells that work in their vicinity. The wells serve 1,200 families who had previously collected water from four wells, but two have failed and only recently was one working well repaired.
The other well is in danger of drying out.
“People start coming in at daybreak and come all day to get water, so the well's in constant use and we're afraid it could fatigue,” said Linda Russell of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Auburn.
Russell and her church are part of a cross-continental effort by the Korean Partnership Mission and Ministry Team - comprised of the Cayuga-Syracuse and Pyongyang Presbyteries - to provide the funds to construct two new wells in the Blantyre area. Each Presbytery is seeking to raise $6,000 to pay for the set-up of each well.
“When I've shared this story with people personally, I've been moved by their attentiveness and their willingness to respond,” Russell said.
The Westminster Presbyterian Church connects to the plight of Blantyre, Malawi through one man: Reverend Harvey Sindima, who arrived in Auburn as an interim pastor at the church in 1998.
The congregation learned about the hardships facing Sindima's homeland of Blantyre during his brief one-and-a-half year tenure in Auburn. His parents adopted a few of the countless youth orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Malawi and provided the children with clothing, shelter and education. The endeavor eventually grew into the Blantyre North Relief Project, which today cares for about 700 orphans in the area.
In recent years, droughts have ravaged Malawi and spurred food shortages when crops failed to flourish without water. The scarcity of water is a problem that persists to this day, as Blantyre's residents struggle to collect it from their two wells.
The Westminster Church has learned of the grave conditions currently facing Blantyre by keeping in touch with Sindima as he continues to serve as a clergy member with the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse. The Pyongyang Presbytery has similarly discovered the danger through Blantyre, who was a founding member of the Korean Partnership.
In September, members of the partnership contacted Sindima's sister, Blantyre North Relief Project on-site manager Rabeccah Michembo, about providing additional wells to the area.
“She couldn't believe the question came when it did because they found themselves in a crisis,” Russell said.
The Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery is currently hoping to collect and wire the $6,000 for its well by Christmas. Each donation is directed toward the well fund in full.
The presbytery hopes the generosity of the season will spill over and supply additional funds to build a school in the Blantyre area. Russell is optimistic both the American and Korean Presbyteries will pull together to provide Sindima's homeland with the help it needs.
“They're moved because they know Harvey and we're moved because we love Harvey,” Russell said. “The spirit moves in strange ways.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
