2024 Q2 Report

In the Central African Republic, 70% of people lack access to safe and reliable water. In Region 2, where Water for Good concentrates its efforts, access to safe water has nearly quadrupled from 10% to 37% in less than four years. Over the last quarter, Water for Good completed 12 new water points and began construction on 19 additional water points. The maintenance team conducted 1,240 visits, ensuring safe and reliable water for thousands of people. While these achievements are significant, Water for Good aims to reach 75% of Region 2’s population with safe water by the end of 2026. With continued effort and support, they strive to bring safe water to 670,000 people by 2027.

Access to safe water is an essential need for rural communities, yet for many in remote villages, this remains an ongoing struggle. Individuals, particularly women, often walk long distances to fetch water. The consequences of drinking contaminated water are dire, leading to serious health issues and even death. 

In the village of Sapoua, Central African Republic, Dorothy Benol, a 51-year-old housewife, faces the challenges of water scarcity daily. “We used to have a swamp near my house, but it was dirty and shared with animals,” Dorothy recounted as she filled her container with clean water from the newly installed well. “Now, thanks to Water for Good, we can easily access clean water. Our health has improved.” The hand pump is now part of our water point maintenance service network. Our teams provide service visits twice a year to ensure the water keeps flowing for communities.  

Grateful for the life-changing support, Dorothy thanked the donors and staff of Water for Good. This new safe water source has lifted the weight of illness and financial burden on families like Dorothy’s. This newfound access to reliable, safe water has brought a renewed sense of hope and security to the entire community.

In the second quarter of 2024, Seed Effect grew to reach over 3,700 savings groups, serving nearly 100,000 members since inception. New activities during this quarter included the roll out of the conservation agriculture pilot at two branches and training of the initial groups formed at the new Seed Effect office in Kajo Keji, South Sudan.

Achola Josephine Opira is a mother of 8 children from South Sudan. When she arrived in Palabek refugee settlement, she received some basic necessities like shelter, access to meager food rations, a 30x30 plot of land, but she still struggled to provide medication, school fees and other needs for her family. Josephine often had negative thoughts about her life after coming to the refugee settlement. She said, “I thought there would never again be a good life to live after leaving my home country South Sudan.” 

In 2022, a neighbor invited her to attend a training hosted by Seed Effect. That day, she decided to join Gum Ber Seed Effect Group and was elected record keeper. Josephine shared, “I used to be in a savings group that stopped meeting in 2019. I never understood the purpose of saving in my previous group and I used to borrow money without a plan. But now I understand. My Seed Effect savings group has helped me a lot. I was able to buy two goats from the share out we received at the end of our first cycle. In the second cycle I want to buy a cow. That is the goal I am planning to achieve. Now I am able to pay school fees and provide medication for my children.

“The most important thing in this saving group is the word of God. Before joining Seed Effect, I used to attend church, but I was not born again. Now I am happy to be born again, reconciled with Jesus, and praying in a new church. The word of God shared in the group helps me a lot in my heart. I get counseling and advice from my group members, and my group is always ready to help in case of any challenges with an emergency fund. Overall, the teaching taught to us is really helping my family. We have tasted the goodness of this program in our lives, and I now work with Seed Effect as a Community Based Facilitator. I am very proud to work with my community members and extend this program to other people.”

Because of your support, South Sudanese refugees and Ugandans are coming to know Jesus, growing spiritually, and being empowered to provide for their families with dignity! Thank you for investing in them! 

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The last three months have been encouraging as the Spirit of the Lord is moving mightily in Pakistan, and many are coming to faith in Jesus. 

Biglife’s Pakistani team showed the Jesus Film 109 times across different locations, reaching 6,104 people representing 745 families. This powerful outreach resulted in 2,296 new believers being baptized and the establishment of 645 new house fellowships. Additionally, the distribution of Bibles is ongoing. From April to June 2024, Biglife conducted 646 Disciple Making Movement (DMM) trainings, with 13,632 participants, including 10,438 males and 3,194 females. These trainings have been instrumental in spreading the gospel and equipping new believers.

The mobile medical camps continue to provide critical healthcare services to the sick, poor, and needy. In April, 2,057 patients were treated, followed by 1,001 in May and 1,669 in June, totaling 4,727 patients, including men, women, and children.

“My name is Javed Masih, from Punjab. I work at a brick kiln and have four children. We’ve faced many hardships, especially when my wife fell severely ill. She had difficulty breathing, and we couldn’t afford the medicine or the hospital. Despite our prayers, she passed away, leaving us in deep sorrow.

“Then, I was diagnosed with tuberculosis. I took a loan from the brick kiln owner and was soon diagnosed with diabetes. My younger son needed kidney dialysis treatments, forcing another loan. We had an accident returning from dialysis, and I broke my leg, adding to our overwhelming financial burdens. My eldest son took over my work to support the family. Tragically, my younger son’s condition worsened. Again, medical care was delayed due to the hospital distance and no funds. He died before we arrived at the hospital. My eldest son’s wife left him due to our poverty. My faith was shaken. 

“The BL team’s support was a beacon of hope. Clara medical camps provided free medicine and paid hospital bills. Their prayers and comfort restored my faith in God. We are grateful for their support and pray that God blesses them for their help and compassion.” —Javed Masih

In this final quarter, FARM STEW completed the remaining activities of five cooking classes in five villages, benefiting 238 individuals who are now practicing improved cooking techniques. Land preparation and the planting of various crops, including kitchen gardening for the first season, are ongoing, with 188 beneficiaries actively participating in the planting process. The savings clubs and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) groups continue to thrive, with the five groups collectively saving 4,360,000 UGX (about $1,170), issuing loans totaling 2,890,000 UGX, earning 1,070,000 UGX in interest, and accumulating a social fund of 890,000 UGX.

Training on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and water purification was conducted using locally available materials, such as red chili and kerosene for IPM and Moringa seeds for water purification. Additionally, 201 households received certificates from FARM STEW for completing the freedom priority program taught by FARM STEW trainers.

As the All Access project concludes in Magwi in July 2024, the voices of government and local community leaders reflect the significant impact of FARM STEW’s work. Mauris Wani, County Executive Director, noted, “I am new in the county but the work of FARM STEW is being talked about by my colleagues in the office and I have witnessed what they have done in the Payam of Magwi and Oboo. Especially in the backyard gardens with a variety of vegetables. Also, I have seen VSLA, clean homes and they said it is a FARM STEW project. This is not like other NGOs. We wish such organizations could continue to enlighten our communities, especially the villages where they have not reached.”

Salfa Ben, from the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) in Magwi County, shared, “FARM STEW’s footprint is very clear in this County and its Payam. From the day they started their work in Magwi, many things have changed. Beneficiaries have built houses, their children are attending classes, and the family is living with love and harmony because the father and mother are working hard. Among FARM STEW beneficiaries, there are no beggars who wait for free money; they work. This organization is different; it is for the development of the people. We wish that donors would fund such an organization so that when one project ends, another one immediately takes on and its activities continue to other unreached villages.”

Lokany Daniel, Education Officer in Magwi County, observed, “We have seen the support given to the girls in schools by FARM STEW. We thank them and wish they will continue to work in other villages where they have not reached because girls are there too.”

Natalina Atim, Maji village chief, remarked, “FARM STEW has brought a teaching which all women in my village will not forget because there are only 3 malnourished children left in the whole village compared to what we suffered from before. Now we know how to prepare nutritious food and what a balanced diet is. We also have clean homes, with latrines, and keep our children clean, which contributes to our healthy living.”

neverthirst has continued its efforts to establish community tap stands connected to piped water systems. From January to June, 40 community tap stands were constructed, significantly improving access to clean water. In the last quarter, 64 health and hygiene trainings were conducted, reaching over 4,100 people. These sessions emphasized the importance of sanitation and safe water practices to prevent diseases. In Niger, the ministry led to two individuals coming to faith in Christ through the efforts of pastors serving alongside the water projects. In Chad, over 900 people heard the gospel message, with 43 individuals expressing repentance and faith in Jesus.

Earlier this year, a small team visited the first drilling site planned this year in Chad. There they met Fatima, a young girl who just returned from a long journey to collect water. Her exhaustion was evident, barely keeping her eyes open and without enough energy to be excited about the highly unusual visit to her village by foreigners. No wonder she was tired—she left before dawn to ride several hours, fill her buckets and return.

The team drove to her water source and were shocked by the cattle-filled hole filled with brown muck. It was difficult to think of this young girl traveling so far for such terrible water.

However, Amanda (neverthirst Africa Programs Director) returned a few weeks ago and met Fatima again.

This time, she was smiling and full of energy! She took Amanda to see the new tap stand near her home supplying clean, easy to access water. “It’s so wonderful having water! I don’t have to get up really early. I get enough sleep now,” she shared.

Fatima’s story is a testament to the transformative power of clean water. It’s great to see what a change the work you enable brings.

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The Northwest India Team conducted four Catalyst training events for 20 new participants each and eight Master Trainer training events for the same 20 participants. They also completed six coaching visits to the region, covering the 10 states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. In East India, the team held Catalyst training events for 318 new catalysts and conducted nine coaching visits across the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha.

During the first half of 2024, two new movements were identified in Northwest India. The Ending Scripture Poverty (ESP) initiative has expanded to 54 languages, with the first two story sets nearly complete in almost all of them. This effort has significantly impacted the increase in new Discovery Bible Studies (DBS), Mandali gatherings, and disciples in nearly every one of these languages.

Several years ago, Girja migrated to Jammu from Chhattisgarh in search of work. He began working as a mason and his wife as a construction worker, carrying bricks on her head. While they were happy that they found jobs, they were quite dissatisfied by the life they were living, questioning why they had moved to this state, leaving behind all their relatives. They met some believers who led them to the Lord and, seeing the need around them, they were stirred by a desire to see a movement to Jesus. They began praying for direction. 

Girja was invited to attend a Disciple Making Movements vision casting meeting in 2019 and eventually became a trainer himself. In the last four years, he has trained 370 Catalyst leaders and helped to start 1,829 spiritual fellowships, with 9,700 confirmed followers of Jesus. He and his team did create a movement! It’s one which is self-sustaining, multiplying, rooted in local culture, minimizing opposition, and maximizing opportunities. And all of this happened in a state which has been politically unstable and challenging for the gospel for the last 75 years.

In Q2 of 2024, Transform East Alliance (TEA) continued its mission to train 240 church planters to make disciples and plant churches among unreached people groups (UPGs) in four countries in South Asia. This quarter, these dedicated church planters successfully established 95 new house churches, bringing 550 new believers to faith among 65 unique UPGs.

In addition to church planting, TEA is empowering these church planters by training them on how to grow their own businesses, such as fisheries and farms. These entrepreneurial skills not only provide a sustainable way to locally fund their ministries but also support the broader needs of their communities.

Rupa is a new believer who came to faith through the work of TEA in her community in southern West Bengal. She signed up for the training (that All Access helps fund) to make more disciples and plant more churches among her unreached community. She is being coached by Sabita, a TEA trainer, and recently started a Bible study group in her home. In April, Rupa’s father became extremely ill, experiencing severe stomach pain for weeks. They couldn’t afford to take him to the doctor, but Rupa remembered the power of prayer and Jesus. So, Rupa and her Bible study group prayed for her father. The next day, in Rupa’s own words, “All the pain was completely gone from his body!” Please remember Rupa, Sabita, and Rupa’s father in your prayers as they are making the Gospel known where it currently isn’t.