Share
RSSSeptember 26, Proper 21
by the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton for ERD
9/26/2004
Amos 6:1-7
1 Timothy 6:11-19
Luke 16:19-31
Psalm 146 or 146:4-9
"Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue…" -- Luke 16:23 (NRSV)
Poverty is never the sole problem of a poor community—longstanding customs whose harmful effects are not perceived by the community simply because they are longstanding can hold them in as steely a grip as lack of money ever does. For this reason, Episcopal Relief and Development never simply throws money at local problems, but works with dioceses and its partners to help communities identify their needs and find the most effective solutions.
In Tanzania, 44% of Tanzanian households use unsafe drinking water. Many are not aware of the dangers of an undependable water source—the dry season in Tanzania is long and hot, and thirst is a constant companion. A third of the population is poor, a quarter of the people have never been to school and 29% can neither read nor write. The Anglican Church of Tanzania sends diocesan development directors, trained to spot both problems and local resources for solving them, to visit communities in each of its 19 dioceses, including the rural region of Choka.
In Choka, the river from which women and girls draw water dries up completely during dry season. Villagers dig down into the dry riverbed until they find the water beneath it. A good idea, on the face of it, although there can be a five-mile difference between the walk to the well and the walk to the river. But a visiting diocesan development director noticed that the girls of Choka were pumping water from wells dug too near a latrine, or too near areas of contaminated runoff into the river during the rainy season. To them, the cool water rushing from the pump looked good—you can’t see intestinal parasites or water-borne pathogens, and they couldn’t know that these things contribute to illness and high mortality rates, especially among children, until somebody told them and their elders, and engaged them in the process of coming to understand the problem and change their practices in order to meet it.
That there might be invisible enemies in water that looks clean and good. That a village can eliminate them by digging its well in a safe place. That illness and early death are not a matter of fate, or even of poverty—these things are news if you don’t know them. Sometimes all a village needs is good information, presented by people they deem trustworthy.
Episcopal Relief and Development saves lives and builds hope in communities around the world. We provide emergency assistance in times of disaster. When the immediate crisis is over, we rebuild devastated communities and offer long-term solutions in the areas of food security, health care, and HIV/AIDS.
