An empowering resource

Spring is just around the corner, and, with any season, it has its blessings—the chill of winter fades, new life begins, and we look forward to celebrating the death and resurrection of our Savior. For those in Indonesia, it brings respite from the rainy season, when flooding or landslides, make many roads impassable and put homes at risk for damage. However, spring in Indonesia brings its own problems, especially in rural villages.

For many Indonesian households, water sources are distant, contaminated, or expensive. This situation only becomes worse when experiencing the dry months of springtime. The demand for clean water drives up the cost. In Java, for instance, families can spend up to the equivalent to $71 on water from delivery trucks every month. The average monthly salary of Indonesians is $183, meaning they could be spending over a third of their income on water.

This spring dry spell and lack of clean water is something the village of Niki Niki and one of their leaders, Adi Nafamnanu, was all too familiar with. He knew his community needed this vital resource to thrive, but no one knew how to build a water storage tank—or how to get clean water closer to where people lived. They had tried to figure it out but were coming up empty.

“They had a water source that the government had sort of cleaned up,” Coral Metcalfe, Southeast Asia Field Manager, shared. “But the government didn’t work with the community, and because of that, no one knew how to care for the water source, and it had fallen into disrepair.”

However, the leaders had heard about an organization called Kingdom Workers. Our work with clean water and sanitation solutions was spreading quickly through rural parts of Indonesia. So, with nothing to lose, Adi and a few other individuals reached out to us.

A few months later, Kingdom Workers staff and volunteers taught Adi and other community members how to build and maintain water storage tanks using sustainable, easy-to-access resources. In doing so, people were able to collect clean water from a tank in their village instead of pulling dirty water from a damaged well nearly one mile away. The community was so empowered by this new training, they built an additional six water tanks after Kingdom Workers left.

These projects are expensive. Pipes alone can cost over $1,000. But the goal in Adi’s village to connect a second water source to these storage tanks so that everyone nearby will have even more access to water. The leaders are determined to create a “green village.” One where everyone can drink water, grow their own food, and live a healthier life.

Not only were we able to provide the people with physical water, but also the water of life. Prior to our project, the community had no connection to a local Lutheran church. So, when our Indonesia Program Coordinator, Pak Yunus, and local Kingdom Worker volunteers arrived, they had the opportunity to explain our mission of sharing the gospel.

“Kingdom Workers is so special to us. They are in our hearts” Adi shared. “They never left us on our own but have always walked alongside us as we worked together to create solutions and fix the water problems in our community.”

Communities around the world need the wisdom that comes from God and strong partners to help them overcome worldly obstacles. The struggle in Adi’s village is just one example of the dire situation millions face every day. God-willing, we can do what it takes to change lives in meaningful, lasting ways, one village at a time.