Perseverance

Things in life are never as easy as they should be, especially if you are in Africa. So this morning at the 6am Mass that starts our every day here in Malawi, the homily was about perseverance. Little did I know how quickly I would have to employ today's lesson. Today our water well repairs almost didn't happen. Currently there is a HUGE shortage of fuel in the country causing many of the gas stations to shut down. Along with some fights breaking out in the long lines at the gas stations many are turning to the black market where prices can be greater than 2x higher than normal. This means they are paying $8-15 per gallon! Yeah, that's per gallon! Today, our guide who did the well assessment was no where to be found so we left 2 hours late. Also, in Malawi, much is driven by strife between traditional tribal authorities and governmental political parties, so we were taken to the wrong wells to repair wells that were not broken. Compounded by the cultural differences which make communicating almost impossible at times, today was a reminder of how thankful we must be for what we do have and how complicated the answers can be. Africa is always about making progress were you can and persevere to fight another day. As a blessing we have repaired 4 wells so far serving about 3800 people. For this I will fight another day.

WOULD YOU DRINK THIS WATER?

TRUE STORY:

There’s an African village in Malawi called Mphomwa where Orant Charities, MSP and CLI had repaired a broken water well and a girl standing there in a tattered dress was afraid to touch the water from the well because she had never seen clear water before. You think I’m kidding? The picture of the girl here is the one from this story and the picture to the nasty water is what she was drinking from before.

STATUS:

Malawi is covered with thousands of broken water wells and most rural Malawians have no access to safe, clean, drinking water. Drinking contaminated water is one of the leading causes of death among children in third world countries.

SOLUTION:

Orant Charities, the Missionaries of St. Paul (MSP) and Child Legacy International (CLI) have already completely refurbished 43 of the broken hand pump water wells in the area where we work. This represents bringing clean water back to about 50,000 people, most of those were children! Since each well costs about $1000 to repair EVERY DOLLAR invested brings clean water back to slightly more than one person for about 5 years!

HERE’S THE DEAL:

Child Legacy International is hosting a charity event called the “Clean Water Climb” to raise money to repair water wells. To support this great cause, I have joined a volunteer team of climbers assembled to scale the world's tallest freestanding mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Topping out at an elevation of 19,349 feet, it is also the highest point on the African continent. We are partnering this year to repair 30 more wells and we are doing everything we can to raise awareness and reach our goal.

WHERE YOU BECOME PART OF THE STORY:

I need to raise money to repair more wells in Malawi and I am asking you to make an investment that is GUARANTEED to saves lives. GUARANTEED!! Wait, it gets better:

100% of your donation will go directly to repair the wells.

Help the people of Malawi get safe drinking water with a TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION to Orant Charities.

TWO WAYS TO TO DONATE: 1. Go to: www.orantcharities.org, click on “Donate” in the left column to invest via credit card using PayPal. 2. You can also send a check to: Orant Charities, 2536 NE Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76106-1809

30 Water Well Repairs & Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

So for the month of July, I will be in Malawi to team up with the Missionaries of St. Paul and Child Legacy International, two incredible organizations with beautiful people to repair 30 water wells. Next, Child Legacy International is hosting a charity event called the “Clean Water Climb” to raise money to repair water wells. To support this great cause, I have joined a volunteer team of climbers assembled to scale the world's tallest freestanding mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Topping out at an elevation of 19,349 feet, it is also the highest point on the African continent. We are partnering this year to repair 30 more wells and we are doing everything we can to raise awareness and reach our goal. I know I have said this before, but I am determined to keep everyone informed, I'm just not a born-blogger. My goal is to at least upload some good pics for people to see...I'll do my best. Leave in less than 2 weeks! Excited, but a long time to be away from my family...pray...

Lazarus!

Ok, so I have not posted anything since...I can't remember, but I am about to leave on another trip to Malawi and I am so excited! I had to do something about it! Not growing up with blogging everywhere, much less the internet or even home computers (yeah, I'm from the dark ages) this blogging thing is taking time to get used to. Guess I never thought people really gave a rats behind what I was doing. I realize though it's important to share the stories about the people we work with and creating awareness for what we do as an organization. I feel that if I write this, I will be held more accountable to report back and share the pertinent, the painful and the pandemonium of Malawi 2010! This year we are:

Repair more water wells, 10-15 hopefully (good for clean water for about 1000 people per well)
Visit the MSP vocational school in Bowe...close to Kasungu
Visit the schools and orphan feeding centers
Gather more data for grant purposes
Catch up with old friends and make some new ones
Just to name a few things...

I want to thank all of the people who have supported us in prayer and $, you all are the real deal!

Orant....Onward!
Seth

Let There Be Light

During our trip to Mavila in Mozambique, we set up a solar powered system with a 12 volt battery backup to run light for six rooms and a few plugs. These two panels should provide about 140 watts of power per day. Thank the Lord Scott Beathard was with us to help with the wiring from the panels, to the regulator, to the batteries, to inverter, to the light fixtures and sockets; otherwise the priests would still be sitting in the dark. In the picture, Jill and Andrea have just finished mounting the panels on the roof right above the priests' bedroom. Since theft is a big problem in a place where people literally nothing, this spot would make the panels the most difficult to steal, "Hey Father Kailesh, either that's one big squirrel or someone is trying to swipe our juice!" Watch out General Electric, these women can do anything!

Fresh Coconuts

There are a lot of incredible things about Mozambique and the Fransalians that we work with there. One of the most memorable is always going to peoples homes for afternoon tea, or in this case, coconut milk. Visiting with the locals, hearing their stories and sharing a few laughs is enjoyable, but the hospitality that they share is genuine and a good lesson for us all. Mozambiquen lesson proverb, "Never mess with a woman and her machete"

Why Orant exists:

There is nothing we can offer to God more precious than good will. But what is good will? To have good will is to experience concern for someone else's adversities as if they were our own, to give thanks for our neighbor's prosperity as for our own; to believe that another person's loss is our own, and also that another's gain is ours; to love a friend in God, and bear with an enemy out of love, to do to no one what we do not want to suffer ourselves, and to refuse to no one what we rightly want for ourselves; to choose to help a neighbor who is in need not only to the whole extent of our ability, but even beyond our means. What offering is richer, what offering is more substantial than this one? What we are offering to God on the altar of our hearts is the sacrifice of ourselves.
Gregory the Great, 580AD