On a recent trip to Tanzania, a LIFE team from GAiN Australia and GAiN Canada was reminded of how the simplest things in life can have the most game changing effect on our lives.
Guided by the GAiN Tanzania field staff, the team travelled to different villages in the country to witness the life-changing impact that the Water for Life Initiative (WFLI) is having on communities. During one day of their trip, they visited a primary school that was in the process of receiving a well.
The team inspected the school’s cement pad and then walked to the water source that was used to make the concrete. The water source was no more than a swamp. To their dismay, the team watched as a student waded into the swamp, filled his plastic bottle and took a long drink from the filthy water.
“To see this boy drink such dirty, brown water was sobering for our team,” LIFE team member Michael Dudok shared. “It definitely made us even more excited to be providing them with a new well.”
While visiting with some of the teachers at the school, the team noticed a green soccer field surrounded by trees. After asking if the students ever played sports on the field, one of the teachers explained that “the students love soccer, but they don’t have a ball.”
A team member immediately went back to their vehicle and brought out three soccer balls for the students to use. Seconds later, a flock of schoolboys surrounded him with buzzing excitement, all of them eager to take a kick at the new ball. Several members of the LIFE team headed out to the field with the boys and proceeded to play soccer with them for the rest of the afternoon.
“This simple gift demonstrated God’s love for them, and that couldn’t have been more evident from the joy on their faces,” said Monique Lieuwen, team member and Project Manager for WFLI.
The following day, the GAiN Tanzania team and the LIFE team returned to finish installing the pump in the school’s well. No longer will these students have to drink from the swamp – they are now free to enjoy an endless supply of pure, crystal-clear water.
With a huge smile on his face, the teacher approached the team and pointed to a cluster of students that were playing a soccer game on the field.
“They haven’t stopped playing since you brought the ball,” he shared.
Clean water and new soccer balls have certainly changed the game for this school in Tanzania. As the students kick off their matches on the field and quench their thirst with safe, accessible water, they are not just embracing newfound resources– they are embracing the promise of a better tomorrow, filled with possibilities and potential.
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