Today- URINKA Village hill dwellers quits going to the shallow river that washed away the access road to them as their long abandoned water well gets rehabilitated by Relief Network Ministries and its ever endearing compassionate partners.
Hot off our press this story is coming in now all the way from South India. The villagers were excited to have running water again within a walking distance from their homes and also happy to receive blankets for the cold weather setting in as well as the Bible as they expressed interest in learning more about the goodness of the gracious donors that are giving them so much blessings.
To participate in our next project or to donate text “Give” to 409-377-6778 or visit www.reliefnetworks.org
Well Rehab Completed & Dedicated.
The THADIHOTTA VILLAGE well in Andhra Pradesh State, India rehab done just in time for Christmas.
RNM is using it to honor our long-standing partner,
a Relief Ambassador, and treasurer Cyril Okeke and his wife for their partnership and steady support.
* * Depth of well: 190 ft.
* * First drilled 2008, broke down since 2021.
* * Replaced 4 socker rods and the pump cylinder with a check valve
* * Also replaced 5 riser pipes
* * Centrally located in the village of some 90-100 Families; this village is some 5 Km away from the nearest city.
* * Most of the dwellers have no real work or business to make a living from.
* * Had opportunity to hear the gospel preached and were very receptive.
* * Distributed some 40 blankets and Bibles to those excited about learning more about the living water, Jesus Christ.
* * Most were said to be so happy as their “joy knew no bounds”
To participate text “Give” to 409-377-6768, or click “Donate Now” button on our website at: www.reliefnetworks.org
Rajavaram High School
Sponsord By: Bob & Lisa Kurrass
RAJAVARAM Village School of 500+ Students gets their water well Rehabilitated.
Excited to share the Christmas story of this rural high school in Andhra Pradesh State where our local team has been laboring to end the water crisis.
The school well has been damaged for over 2 years with no hope of repairing it in sight when RNM came along with the help of our partners and sponsors- Bob & Lisa Kurrass in memory of her mother who recently passed away in Coasta Rica.
The Principal and all the students were so happy. Their joy knew no bounds as they were jubilating for having clean water once again in their school for drinking, cleaning and bathroom use.
We shared some well dedication cake with about 100 students and teachers that came around to celebrate their rehabilitated well.
RNM is thankful to our generous partners and sponsor of this project - the Kurrass family in loving memory of her late mom, Ms. Rosemary Phillips.
To participate in our next project or donate, text “Give” to 409-377-6778 or visit www.reliefnetworks.org
RAJAVARAM Village well Rehabilation completed.
This is vibrant village with over 1000 users that lost the use of this well when it totally broke down for a long time forcing users to walk more miles for domestic water. Some parts of the village gets trickling water from the public source for less than an hour some days in a week.
They were overflowing with joy to see their well rebuilt by strangers who came across from a different village and got the pump rebuilt plus the well pad they just finished with fresh concrete work about a week ago.
The well was dedicated to the village community that gathered with the sharing of the gospel. When some of their leaders learned a little about our ministry and local partners, they mentioned a desire to have a plant in their village as there is no church in existence there now. They offered our Indian partner a piece of land to build a local church at half the price of market value. This was a huge welcome gesture of the community.
Any one or church leader interested in church planting and community development & partnership projects should reach out to me.
Sponsors: Mike & Pam Smith - RNM Board Member.
To help us rebuild or dig the next well project in India, Nigeria or Niger Republic please click the “Donate” button on our website at: www.relief network.org or text “Give” to 409-377-6778.
REC INT’L Gives ‘sweet’ water!
RAGHAVAPURAM Village is smiling again for the Rehabilitation of their damaged well which has been out of service for about 3 years.
The well rehab is located in a different part of the extensive village from where the new well was built recently by RNM in partnership with Dominion Church of Dickinson, Texas. The dwellers are mostly high caste Hindus that are a little more tolerant than many others.
They were very happy to see water coming out of their long abandoned and dilapidated well, which they call “sweet water”!
RNM, Inc. is very thankful for the support and partnership of Real Estate Connections (REC) International for making this rehab possible through their corporate generosity.
Sponsoring a water well project is always a wonderful way to give back to fellow humans in need and in demonstration of the redemptive love of Christ at Christmas.
The rewarding impact is evidenced by many from this community wanting to learn more about our compassion & faith and thus motivated by what they see to request a Bible they can read in their local Telugu & Koya languages for themselves.
To donate or participate, text “Give” to 409-377-6778 or learn more at www.reliefnetworks.org
Breakthrough at RAGHAVAPURAM Village to end the water Crisis!
Raghavapuram village in Andhra Pradesh State, INDIA is a highly discriminatory mix of the social classes that are predominantly strict Hindu people. There lives the haves and the have-nots, in a social caste class system that look down on their poorer neighbors. There is no affection for each other. The village has only one borehole that has been under repair for a while.
Our RNM team went to visit the place for community engagement and quickly understood their problems. The well will serve about 1000 people.
The high caste people do not want to see the low caste ones fetching water from the same place or even touching the same well pump where they all get their water that was then broken.
They resorted to using only the limited supply of water pumped into an overhead tank when they get rationed electricity for only 2 hours per day. You have to understand that not everyone will be able to collect enough water needed in their homes during the 2 hour window when electricity was on, especially if they have gone to work to take care of their livelihoods.
So as we started drilling the new well to provide them a more reliable steady supply of water in the middle of the village, many of them around us become very antagonistic ridiculing our project as a failure since it has been difficult for many before us to get a productive well in that village.
Our team experienced a lot of pain when one caste is asking for a new well and another caste does not care nor want to cooperate.
We believe that getting a new working well will be a blessing for the majority of the people. The opposers came around to remind us that some drillers have dug wells before near where we were but no water came out. They kept saying you are wasting your time and money.
If you have that much money, why not put it into improving our houses.
However, we ignored them and trusted God who helped us crush through a rocky formation that lengthened the project to the second day. Our drillers were distressed when we encountered the rocky formation. But our rep Kumar reached out to Dr. Okorie over a video call to encourage them and to pray with them to break through the challenges before they recessed for the first day. On getting started the next day we got the breakthrough needed with abundant water from the hand pump that was installed.
No matter how many negative words they said in that village, we stood in faith and by the plea of the poor and thirty. Psalm 9:18.
When it was over the negative opposers said “…we are sorry you came to do a lot of good to our village but we hurt you with our negative words, we are grateful to you, your company, and your families.” We were gladdened afterwards because they turned from their ingratitude and made our local team happy with the invitation to “stay forever” - then they understood that this is truly a welcome opportunity to share the Christmas story of redemption and the love Christ the living water.
At the well dedication some Hindus among them have expressed their happiness towards us saying that we have spent a few thousand rupees on them without expecting anything back.
To God be the glory for giving us such a breakthrough in difficult circumstances.
Many thanks to Pastor Greg Thurstonson and Dominion Church of Dickinson, Texas for being our generous partner and project sponsor for this Indian village.
To donate or participate, text “Give” to 409-377-6778 or learn more at www.reliefnetworks.org
INDIA NEW WELL
COMPLETED IN PENTAPADU VILLAGE JULY 17, 2023
This 110 ft deep well was completed at a Church plant in Pentapadu village community about 2 weeks ago by Prem Kumar - our technical rep. at the CH JAYAMMA Ministries.
Prior to the drilling- they got their domestic water from
the River and a government tank water that is about 1 kilometer. A previous water source from a nearby well was also bad due to its salt content.
This well will serve about 1000 persons and their annuals.
The gospel was shared with excited community members during the drilling and well dedication ceremony done last week. We also did some health hygiene training such as hand washing techniques to avoid or control infections.
The project is Sponsored by Dominion Church in Dickinson, Texas and we’re told that many community members are all happy because they have a nearby water source to their homes and will no longer walk 1 Km to take water from a well.
Excited about our 2023 Gala night today and the dedication of a special well project today in the Indian village of GANGARAM in Andra Pradesh State.
Plus our Gala Seats are Sold out. That’s phenomenal.
This Rehab well is sponsored by our ministry’s first treasurer- Dr. Samson Otuwa in memory of his late twin brother - David Otuwa. This project touches my heart deeply as his twin brother passed away back in Chicago about the same time that he partnered with the ministry as our very first treasurer while living in Friendswood and working in Texas Children’s Hospital as a pediatrician and anesthesiologist. This was in 2002.
With his amiable wife, Dr. Grace Otuwa they hosted our second Fundraising Dinner in 2003, a mini Gala in their lovely suburban home in Friendswood then attracting almost all the doctors and specialists in the Houston Medical center.
Today we are blessed to have this humble honorable Dr. Samson and his wife Grace Otuwa back in Houston all the way from Las Vegas Nevada to grace the evening as they attend our biggest Gals event in Houston.
We give all Glory to God for His wonderful works and abundant grace upon their lives!
For those unable to attend our gala please feel free to participate by giving generously at our website www.reliefnetworks.org or by texting “Give” to 409-377-6778.
India Well Rehab for a Kindergarten/ Elementary School
The 2nd well rehab we did in July was in a Kindergarten / Primary School in NAGULAGUDEM.
This well has been broken down for about 3 years. The school gets bath room water from a large storage tank that is fed water from the local government water system which was turned on for just half an hour to one hour some days with no consistency and poor water quality. There are about 65 kids that attend school here with their families plus other locals that make up a user population of about 1250 in the vicinity of the school well.
LAMPLIGHTER'S WELL
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Psalm 119:105
Rehab done: July 21, 2023
By Relief Network Min., Inc. (USA); Field Rep: Prem Kumar.
Sponsored By: David & Ashley Durkins (Amherst, NH, USA)
To help or participate in the next project click “ donate” at www.reliefnetworks.org
TONY PHILLIPS Memorial Well now completed.
In loving memory of our Board Vice-Chair’s late daddy - Lisa Kurrass, we did a major rehabilitation of YARRAMPETA village well in South India that serves a community of over 1000 persons including those that leave in shelters considered homeless.
They are so happy to have clean running water by their homes and dwelling tarp houses, and heartily received the word of life as the well project was being done by our local reps with the CH Jayamma Ministries.
To God be the glory for making this possible, and many thanks to Brother Bob and Lisa Kurrass for being our long time partners in the water well ministry projects.
To participate or sponsor the next memorial project or honor your loved one, click the “Donate” button on our website and InBox me of your intent. www.reliefnetworks.org