The Water for Life Initiative fall fundraisers this past month were a roaring success! Our team had a blast meeting with people from across Canada and getting the chance to share more about the waves of positive change we are seeing in the countries where we work.
Our theme this year was “The Ripple Effect.” Just as a drop of water creates a series of ripples on the surface of water, so too does a single event, like providing people with access to clean water, have a powerful far-reaching effect on other areas of life. Not only does it transform physical health, but it impacts people’s relationships, spiritual wellbeing, daily rhythms and hope for the future.
The events kicked off in Abbotsford, BC at the Clarion Hotel, where we hosted over 170 guests from the Lower Mainland area! Our local staff each hosted a table and had the chance to meaningfully connect with our donors over a delicious dinner and dessert. Our CEO, Aaron Rogers, and Patrice Lavagnon, Country Manager for Benin and Togo, carried the bulk of the evening, sharing beautiful stories of impact that have happened over this past year.
The following evening, we put on a Paint + Sip night in downtown Abbotsford. Participants ate charcuterie and sipped mocktails as they were led in an acrylics painting tutorial by talented artist Judy Smith. Patrice came as the guest speaker and talked about the significance of the picture, explaining that women in Africa are primarily burdened with the task of finding drinking water for their families. Most people who attended were new to GAiN, and so it was a lovely night of spreading awareness and getting people connected into the work that we do.
After the flurry of our BC events, Aaron and Mike Feenstra, Relational Manager for GAiN, met with some donors in Manitoba for some more one-on-ones and a few small gatherings. Throughout the trip, our team made some amazing connections with our ongoing church partners and even had the chance to form new relationships with other churches.
Following our time in Manitoba, some of our team members flew east to help our local staff with the Toronto fundraisers. Our large dinner gathering happened at the Weston Hotel and our second Paint + Sip event was hosted at Pinot’s Palette. One of our staff, Ravi Chandran, also headed up a second dinner event, featuring special guest speaker Charles Price and musician Ruth Ann Onley. Each evening was filled with energy and warmth as people listened attentively to the ways that access to clean water is changing every aspect of reality for communities in Benin, Togo and Tanzania.
Aaron and Mike Feenstra, Relational Manager for GAiN, travelled to Alberta for more one-on-ones. It was a wonderful time of sharing more testimonies of God’s faithfulness and forming bonds with partners.
We want to say a big thank you to everyone who came and supported our events this year! We are honoured as an organization to do the work that we do, helping create powerful ripples of change in all areas of life for communities in Africa.
On June 25th, the Cherry Trees Band played a show called a “Concert for Water in Africa” at Hughs Room Live in Toronto. All the proceeds of their show went towards supporting our Water for Life Initiative efforts in Benin, Togo and Tanzania.
The venue, which has hosted some of Canada’s biggest musicians like Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, was packed full with a lively crowd that night.
“The event was unbelievable,” said Ravi Chandran, staff member at GAiN Canada. “So well done in every aspect. The evening was so happy and purposeful that one did not feel like leaving the hall. I cannot wait for the next one!”
The concert marked the conclusion to the band’s campaign, Matumaini (“hope” in Swahili), which began in 2020 and generated $131,646. So far, their fundraising efforts over the years have raised almost $238,000, funding 28 water wells for approximately 28,000 people in Africa.
With their name reminiscent of the word “charity,” the Cherry Trees Band has devoted themselves to changing the world for the better. Their team consists of over 30 volunteers, sponsors and donors, all working together to make a difference in the lives of those who lack access to safe water. The musical group has even gone on to record an album after each of their campaigns over the years, naming each in honour of their fundraising efforts.
Our team at GAiN loves witnessing the creative vision and passion that people like the Cherry Trees Band have for helping give clean water to communities in Africa. We are so encouraged by their willingness to use their talents and skills to partner with us and change the lives of those across the world!
The Cherry Trees Band (left to right): Jay Couse, Terry O’Brien, Shardie Stevenson, Steve Mallory and Gary Gardner.
The village of Laawa in Benin wasn’t always the vibrant and stable community that it is today. Before Global Aid Network (GAiN) arrived in 2022 with a water well, villagers suffered from a variety of hardships caused by a lack of safe water and educational opportunities.
A man from the village shared that the community was always riddled with “many infectious diseases, especially among our children and women – diseases such as diarrhea, vomiting, stomach aches and sore throats.” Additionally, women were forced to spend most of their time on an arduous journey to collect unsafe water, while children were set on a track to grow up without education or hope for a better future.
Once GAiN provided the community with a new water source, change slowly began to ripple into Laawa village. As people began to drink clean water and put into practice what they learned from Hygiene and Sanitation Training, sickness gradually disappeared from the community.
A member of our GAiN team shared that “during this second Hygiene and Sanitation Training, the population came out massively because they were very happy with the past training.” The community’s eager engagement revealed a desire to grow stronger and healthier together.
Relationships between men and women also began to heal and shift in a positive way.
One woman praised GAiN’s Household Harmony workshop and how it empowered participants to have empathy towards the opposite gender. She shared: “This training is good training because it talks to us about how we must live together from now on. Before, women did not participate in decision-making during our meetings but from now on it will involve us in decision-making.”
Perhaps one of the greatest ripple effects of the water well is that it has made room for children to receive education. With easy, direct access to safe water, kids no longer have to spend hours each day gathering water and can attend school instead.
During a recent visit to Laawa village, GAiN was overjoyed to see how the gift of water has freed up children to engage in their studies. The community even took the initiative of starting their own school after GAiN encouraged them that education can help eradicate poverty, bolster economic development and empower the next generation.
Bio Djobo, the headmaster and teacher of the village school, explained that there are 61 students currently attending the village school.
“I [teach] them how to read and [am] currently teaching them syllables and vowels,” he shared.
Access to clean water has not only created opportunities for the village to receive education, but to hear the gospel as well. During the showing of the JESUS Film, 713 people attended and 63 gave their lives to Jesus. One villager named Sofou Lokotoro shared, “Through this film I can say that Jesus is the real love of God manifested. I accept it.”
Of the 63 new believers, 41 decided to receive follow-up training and discipleship in their faith. A woman named Kouvi Djodi said,“I undoubtedly understand that without Jesus no one can go to God.” We are overjoyed at the openness of this community to receive the love of Jesus and step into a new way of life.
The powerful gift of clean water has produced an abundant ripple effect of change in Laawa village. Not only has it allowed GAiN to partner with the community of Laawa in improving physical and relational health and encouraging education in the community, but it has served as a doorway to share the love of Christ with them.
Can you imagine if every village had this same experience?
Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” In all that we accomplish through our Water for Life Initiative, we seek to honour the Lord and make His love known to all people. At GAiN, our mission is to reveal hope by sharing God’s unconditional love, and restore life by demonstrating the gospel through compassionate action to those who are living in poverty, injustice and crisis around the world.
Our dream is that every individual, family and community would be introduced to this way of life – a life that is marked by physical, emotional and spiritual flourishing. Yes, we acknowledge this is a big dream! That’s why we want to invite you to come alongside us and help make it a reality.
Our goal is to raise $260,000 to provide 20 communities (around 20,000 villagers) with clean water and the Living Water.
A generous donor reached out to us with a matching opportunity. If you choose to provide a village with access to clean water and the Living Water today, your gift will be DOUBLED—dollar for dollar—up to $50,000!
Will you join us in our mission to create powerful waves of change in communities that lack access to safe water, education and the opportunity to hear about Christ’s love? We know that even the tiniest splash can produce a ripple effect of transformation in the lives of others.
We hope you will say yes. Thank you for your partnership!
Down a winding dirt path in the thick of leafy green bushes and trees lives a small community in Benin. Humble mud huts and wood fences dot the land as barefoot children wander around, holding hands with younger siblings and calling out to one another in Fon. This is the village of Vongnigodo.
When GAiN provided a well for their community back in 2016, it caused a revolutionary shift in the daily rhythms of the people that continues to have a positive effect on their world today. Not only did access to safe water cleanse and restore the physical health of villagers– it gave them the gift of time.
Julien, Ghislain and Adolph are three members of Vongnigodo’s well committee who described to our team the ways in which the well has radically impacted their village.
“Before the water well, we had a lot of disease and stomach aches,” Julien explained. “Since the water well arrived, we are free from all these diseases. Before, we walked long distances, but with this water well, we save time. So it means that women don’t go far away before getting water.”
He also shared that women would have to gather water three times a day, walking a kilometre and a half one way in order to reach a stagnant, muddy stream. Although this water is filthy, Vongnigodo would use it for everything, including drinking, bathing and washing their clothes.
After expending most of their energy on filling up buckets, women would then be forced to trek back uphill with the heavy weight of the dirty water balanced atop their heads. Since women in this community also farm during the day, they must gather water in the early morning before joining the men in the field.
“Women [were] tired after they [collected] water,” Ghislain shared. “Because they [were] tired, they [didn’t] have capacity to do all the activities in the day.”
Relying on a distant and toxic water source strips people of their health and swallows up their capacity to focus on other priorities. Not only do household duties fall to the wayside for women, but spending intentional time with their children and spouses becomes next to impossible.
However, with Vongnigodo’s well now in the centre of the village, the process of collecting water is delightfully simple. Women can come and go with ease, filling their buckets whenever needed without using up hours of their day. This direct access is not just a convenience– it is a deep sigh of relief.
“Thank you to GAiN! Because of this well, there is no more sickness! No more stomach aches and diarrhea,” the three committee members said.
To maximize the restorative power of clean water, GAiN equipped 218 members of the village with Hygiene and Sanitation Training. The team also facilitated an interactive teaching on gender roles and domestic abuse with a group of 146 villagers to encourage empathy and understanding between men and women. The local church shared about the love of Jesus with the people of Vongnigodo and 293 people watched the JESUS Film. Within this group, 23 people made decisions to follow Jesus and 5 chose to receive further discipleship in their faith.
Féliciènne Agbode, a woman who watched the JESUS Film, shared, “I am very happy with the path from which the Lord delivered me by giving me the grace…”.
As a way to encourage believers in the village to gather together and worship, the new church in Vongnigodo received a church building. Training was also given to a designated team of leaders in the church.
Pastor Bernadin Avloko said, “I am very happy with this training which particularly allows me to learn the best ways for [the] church” Another villager, Jacques Avosse, was also incredibly impacted by GAiN’s work in his community.
Direct access to safe water has transformed this small community in Benin from the inside out. Diseases have vanished, relationships have more time to flourish and energy for other activities has increased.
Clean water isn’t just a necessity for life – it is the ticket to an entirely different way of experiencing the world. Where there is access to safe water, there are mothers, fathers, pastors, farmers, children and elderly folk who can enjoy a healthy and secure way of life together. This life of abundance and wholeness is what we desire to give to the world.
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.
There is a desperate need around the world for women to be educated about their menstrual cycles and equipped with feminine hygiene products.
According to the World Bank, an estimated 500 million women and girls globally don’t have access to the facilities they need to manage their periods. Many of these women also lack any kind of knowledge about their cycle and what is happening to their bodies during this time.
While on a LIFE Team trip to see GAiN’s water strategy first-hand in Tanzania, there was a unique opportunity for GAiN’s Water for Life Initiative (WFLI) to respond to this need. In addition to the usual tasks of building a well pad and engaging with villages and the local church, the team decided to give away menstrual hygiene packages and educate girls on their cycles. This form of distribution and training is the first of its kind that GAiN has ever done.
“We went to a secondary school in Kibiti, Tanzania where GAiN is currently working on providing a well,” said Monique Lieuwen, Project Manager for WFLI. “A lot of the kids walk over an hour to get to school.”
Monique explained how she and, Jess, Community Health Project Manager for WFLI, as well as two other female LIFE team members and GAiN Tanzania staff members Neema and Oliva all arrived at the school and met with the principal, who directed them to a private classroom. There they met with a group of 26 female students who were approximately ages 14-18. Each girl received a menstrual hygiene package, which came in different sizes and consisted of five reusable pads, one pair of underwear and a set of instructions. These pads were sewn by volunteers from Australia and are made from towels and flannel with a snap underneath to keep it secure.
“At first, the girls were a little shy and nervous, but they opened right up,” Monique shared. “It was awesome. They were so engaged and excited, they had never received anything like this before. It wasn’t just a distribution– it was education.”
Neema and Oliva taught the girls how to use the reusable pads and keep track of their cycle. In return, the girls shared about their experience in dealing with their periods. Instead of pads, they would use cloth and then refold it to keep using it over and over. The lack of proper hygiene products is made worse by the shame culture surrounding a woman’s cycle. Many girls are forced to stay home or stay away from school to reduce the risk of anyone finding out that they are on their period.
“When we gave them a pack, they hid it under their head coverings,” Monique recalled. “They didn’t want anyone to see them.”
Because of the embarrassment of being on their period, girls miss one week of education out of every month and sometimes drop out of school entirely. Mothers also succumb to shame and refuse to teach their daughters about menstruation, creating a generational pattern of silence and secrecy.
In an attempt to break some of the stigma and mystery associated with periods, Jess, Neema and Oliva crafted a simple menstrual training for the girls. The team not only discussed the physical function of a period, but explained that this shared female experience is a way to support one another socially. They also encouraged the students to talk with one another about their periods and look out for one another as a way to reduce feelings of shame and isolation.
“One girl said, ‘thank you for the education,’” Monique shared. “That meant a lot, because it’s so much more than saying ‘thank you for the pads.’ Education is so much better and is what will have a lasting impact on these girls and their culture.”
These menstrual packages and training sessions are part of a trial project that will hopefully continue as long as there is funding and volunteer capacity to sew reusable pads. For now, we are thankful for the opportunity to have facilitated our first distribution and training with these teenage girls, and hope that it has gifted them with a measure of dignity and confidence for the future.
Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/05/25/menstrual-hygiene-management
“With the coming of GAiN, our knowledge has increased abundantly. I now can confidently save the life of the mother and the baby at birth.” – Eusebius, head doctor of Mandawa Health Center.
Since 2006, GAiN has provided access to clean water for medical clinics in Benin, Tanzania and Togo in order to increase the overall safety and quality of care given to patients. This strategy is rooted in the knowledge that having access to clean water and the Living Water can transform every part of one’s life for the better. At GAiN, we care deeply about how clean water affects the social, spiritual and economic culture of a village, but also how it can bring protection and physical restoration to the vulnerable. Anchored in our passion to see the whole person restored, GAiN developed the Saving Lives at Birth program, where staff at the clinics are being trained with knowledge and techniques for how to properly care for newborns and mothers in a safe and timely manner.
Our team visited the Mbekenyera Health Center in Tanzania, where we met with the assistant doctor in charge. When we asked him about the impact of the training, he said that the hospital staff used to have no knowledge about how to save a baby’s life, but now six birth attendants have been trained in Saving Lives at Birth (SLB). He is so grateful that they haven’t had any bad cases since the training 12 months ago, which taught them about danger signs to look for so that babies can be referred to the hospital in a timely manner.
When we asked why they hadn’t had any knowledge prior to the SLB training, the assistant doctor said they didn’t have sufficient equipment to practice what they had learned in school, so their skills were forgotten. Now that they have proper training, equipment and resources, the hospital attendants are able to practice constantly and pass on what they have learned to other staff.
Later, we asked the doctor if he could share more about what the situation was like before the training. He simply answered, “Babies would die while waiting for the doctor.”
When birth attendants were unsure how to handle a situation, they would ask for help from the two doctors at the clinic which ended up wasting precious time. The training taught these birth attendants about the ‘golden minute,’ where resuscitation must occur in order to save the baby. This rule clarified that they cannot wait for the doctor’s assistance in these circumstances if the baby is to survive.
As we walked through the maternity ward, we heard a newborn baby crying. It was a wonderful sound to hear a healthy newborn! The birthing rooms used to be less than ideal, with old or broken down equipment, stiff beds and dirty floors. Since the training, they now have a resuscitation table with equipment and action plans on the wall.
Our team had the opportunity to chat with a nurse named Levina at Mbekenyera Health Centre.
She said, “Since we got education in different ways of helping babies breathe through GAiN, we have many benefits. We now have a lot of education on how to help babies breathe, how to give care to mothers, we are so happy because we learned a lot and understand the benefits for us.”
When asked how she felt after receiving this GAiN training, she shared, “I feel so happy because we understand how to help that baby when it has a problem. We also need to continue learning with GAiN’s help and have more opportunities.”
Levina shared that during one of her shifts, she admitted a pregnant woman into the hospital who was close to giving birth. Upon the examination, she noticed that the heartbeat of the baby was decreasing and it was having fetal distress. She remembered her training and prepared the necessary equipment in case the baby required breathing assistance. Once the mother delivered, Levina identified what treatment was needed and swiftly cleared the baby’s airways. Within five minutes, the baby was crying! Levina was so happy that the education she received was helpful in saving a life
Levina shared that prior to her training, “it was a bad feeling [to help with a delivery] because [we] are always expecting the baby will be healthy at birth so when that doesn’t happen it’s sad because it’s a human life.”
At Mandawa Health Center, a clinical attendant and anesthetist named Tumaini said the training has helped their whole team become better at assisting mothers during delivery. Several other attendants mentioned that they feel much more comfortable using proper methods to save lives at birth and believe they will be able to help many more babies in the future. One nurse named Paul shared about a mother who experienced postpartum hemorrhaging after birth, but he was able to manage the bleeding using the action steps that GAiN taught him.
Not only has GAiN’s Saving Lives at Birth training vastly improved the function of the clinics, but the provision of access to clean water has also ensured that these centres run smoothly and effectively. The staff used to draw from the town’s water system, keeping a limited supply in tanks for the rainy season. However, during each dry season they would run out of water. When this happened, they sent people on motorbikes or in an ambulance to buy water but had to use it sparingly for surgeries and birth. All other patients had to bring their own bucket of water.
After seeing how a lack of clean water was inhibiting the medical staff’s ability to care for patients, GAiN stepped in and created a system for easy, reliable access. The drilling locations have now been connected to the medical centres, providing safe water and creating a more hygienic and stable environment for all.
“With GAiN drilling the borehole we see a bright future ahead because sometimes we would have to tell families/loved ones to go and collect water from remote places for their delivery due to the lack of water. There wasn’t enough staff here to collect water. Now with GAiN the problem [is] solved. We are sure it will be a sustainable one for a long time,” shared Eusebius.
Eusebius shared how deeply appreciative the clinics are for GAiN’s support, as it has dramatically increased the staff’s ability to protect mothers and children at birth and has given them renewed confidence in their skills. The delivery packs that GAiN provided have also been a profound blessing to pregnant mothers who are better set up to have safe and smooth births.
By equipping medical clinics with access to clean water, Saving Lives at Birth training and delivery packs, GAiN is providing higher quality health care to mothers and babies in Tanzania, Benin and Togo. The impact that GAiN’s support is having on clinics is encouraging–medical staff are growing in confidence and, as a result, more lives are being saved. We are thankful that GAiN has the opportunity to create an environment of safety, stability and hope within the health care clinics and are excited to continue sharing their stories of success and growth.
Before clean water arrived at the village of Nkowe-Mafuriko in Tanzania, people would wake up each morning to a life where time, energy and resources were stretched dangerously thin.
Instead of spending precious hours of their day farming the fields for food, villagers would have to wake up while it was still dark to begin their long search for water. Instead of rising to meet each day feeling healthy and strong, the burden of sickness caused by contaminated water would plague them with discomfort.
A 15-year-old girl named Esha recalled the difficulty of life before having access to safe drinking water: “The river we used to collect water from caused stomach aches and diarrhea. I would have to spend time going to the river and if it was the dry season, I would have to dig to find water,” she said.
However, once Global Aid Network (GAiN) provided a deep-capped water well, the hardship of waking up to life in Nkowe-Mafuriko started to disappear. People’s day-to-day rhythms became more sustainable, with less time being consumed by the search for water. Slowly but surely, their physical, mental and spiritual health was restored and rejuvenated.
Esha shared how much she loves that the water from the well helps her to keep her home clean, and that she enjoys having clean water to wash her school uniform. Since she is able to attend school, our GAiN team asked Esha what occupation she would like someday and after some thought she said, “I’d like to be a water committee secretary.”
Her answer showed us that she knows the importance of looking after the well and believes it to be a job that women can do. Thanks to GAiN’s water committee training, villagers in Nkowe-Mafuriko are able to be equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to care for the well.
Through a partnership with the closest nearby church (mother church), God’s unconditional love was shared with villagers. Twenty-five members of the village made decisions to follow Jesus, and the three individuals who chose to learn the basics of their faith. However, because this mother church was a 10km walk away from the village, attendance was low. Thanks to a new church plant in the heart of their village, believers can now gather as a Christian community year-round and their numbers are increasing day by day.
GAiN also built a church structure for this community of believers, which has now grown to 40 adults and many children. Previously, the church met under a tent, which wasn’t comfortable or suitable when it rained.
Through the powerful and transformative gift of having access to clean water, the village of Nkowe-Mafuriko can welcome each new day with joy and hope. Their days are no longer hampered by the time-consuming task of collecting water or the discomfort of water-borne illnesses. They are no longer withheld from attending school or hearing about God’s love through a local church. Each morning, villagers can look forward to a more empowered way of life.
At GAiN, we desire that everyone experience life in its fullness, free from the burden of poverty. Our mission is to reveal hope by sharing God’s unconditional love, and restore life by demonstrating the gospel through compassionate action to those who are living in poverty, injustice and crisis around the world.
The joint impact of the water well and the sharing of the gospel has infused hope into the life of the villagers. Our dream is to see more individuals experience the body, soul and spirit transformation that comes when safe water and the message of God’s love are introduced into their communities.
Will you join us to help make this dream a reality?
Our goal is to raise $247,250 to provide approximately 23,000 villagers (23 communities) with clean water and the Living Water by June 30th.
A simple ‘yes’ creates a ripple-effect of change in the health, relationships, economy and spiritual vitality of a village. Your gift can serve as the catalyst for authentic and lasting impact on a community for generations to come.
Experiencing renewed joy through water –
For over fifteen years, Global Aid Network (GAiN) has committed to providing deep-capped water wells to rural villages in such countries as Benin, Tanzania and Togo. Through the Water for Life Initiative, which includes the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) program, GAiN not only resolves to give communities access to clean water, but also develop a culture of sustainability and wellness and an understanding of the love of Jesus.
Our team encountered Pastor Fidele and a few others in the village of Adjaho Vekpa. When we asked him about the community’s local water source, he informed us that the closest reliable source of water was six kilometers away. Although there were hand dug wells nearby, they did not always produce the amount of water needed by the village. Thus, women and children in the community had to travel six km to bring home water that was collected from swamps and standing water. The water was contaminated, as it was shared with livestock and was also used for bathing and doing laundry. Water-borne illnesses would often plague people as a result of being forced to drink this polluted water.
Previously, there was strong resistance to preaching and the gospel because the community was steeped in the practices of Voodoo. Yet, even before our team arrived, God was working in the hearts and minds of the villagers. Once the well was provided, people’s hearts slowly became open to hearing the message of Jesus Christ.
However, once a well was installed, an abundance of joy was brought to the community. The availability of clean water provided them with a means of living healthier lives that were no longer burdened by lengthy travel or disease. Partnering with the local church also allowed the hope of Jesus to be shared.
The pastor related to us the feelings of many villagers: “The God that provides the water is the God we want to know about.”
Our team worked with the Assemblies of God Church in Toffo to train six members of that church on how to share their faith, and they went door-to-door in the community, proclaiming the good news of Christ. Fourteen people made a decision to follow Jesus in one day, and a new church plant of 15 people now exists in this village, led by Pastor Fidele.
“Our prayer is that this village is gained for Christ,” shared Pastor Fidele. “The work that GAiN has done in this village has already opened doors for us to come here with the Good News of Christ and that has opened the door for us to preach to people and they accept Christ.”
This is just one story of how deeply grateful we are for how God continues to use GAiN’s WFLI to transform the everyday rhythm of villages.
We also witnessed the faithfulness of the Lord through the commissioning of a second rotary rig in Benin, which is already assisting in providing even more wells to villages in the country.
Additionally, we saw God’s continued faithfulness during the Director of GAiN’s WFLI, Steve Thompson’s, trip to Tanzania this summer. Steve met with the Tanzanian government, who are key partners in the provision of water to rural communities, and together with GAiN, they started negotiations for the next MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).
During that same trip, Steve visited the three villages that are part of the Maasailand project. One village leader shared how his community had lost hope in finding clean water, as thousands of dollars had been spent searching for water in partnership with other organizations, and all attempts had failed. When the villager heard that GAiN Tanzania had found water, he dropped to his knees and cried, shaking Steve’s hand and praising God for the water that had been found. We are moved by the Lord’s work in Tanzania, especially how he has strengthened the staff working there, enabled us to form a solid relationship with the government, and provided the tangible gift of water to rural villages.
AFA (Assa Fulfulde Anji) Project
In March 2021, GAiN partnered with a foundation to bring the gospel to three unreached people groups, including the Fulfulde and Anji peoples in Northern Benin, and the Assa people in Northern Tanzania. The goal is to plant 85 churches among these three people groups, and see 4,600 unreached individuals come to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
Over the past four months, we have witnessed the transformative power and work of God through the AFA Project. During our team’s trip to visit ten villages in Northern Benin that belong to the Fulfulde people, we saw how the provision of clean water and church plants had changed the atmosphere and livelihood of the community.
The Fulfulde people are cattle rearers, and were a historically nomadic group. They have been hated by other people groups in the past because their animals would eat other people’s crops. As a result, the Fulfulde people became extremely isolated and were known for being distrustful of others. However, our team was told that because of both the deep-capped water well and church plants, the Fulfulde are much more welcoming to outsiders. We observed this change through the warm welcome we received from the villages, and how in one community, the children came to play with us and touch our skin. Previously, this kind of interaction would never have happened.
During a conversation with Bertin, the JESUS Film director of Northern Benin, he noted that one of the reasons that the AFA project is so successful is because it targets specific people groups.
“These groups feel valued and chosen by GAiN. Therefore, they embrace the project enthusiastically,” he said.
In addition to providing communities with a well and hygiene and sanitation training, GAiN meets with local pastors to strategize about planting churches, teach discipleship skills, show the JESUS film and mobilize door-to-door evangelism. Several new tools have also been introduced, such as showing the Walking with Jesus (WWJ) Film series to new believers.
A member of our team had the chance to speak with several pastors who have used WWJ, and all agreed that it is very well received and incredibly useful for discipleship. Bertin noted that he “sees lifestyle changes in people and families after watching the WWJ film.” The film is shown with African actors and context as well as in the people’s own language, making it extremely effective in teaching new Christians more about Jesus.
The Discipleship Training Sessions are another tool that is being used as part of the AFA project. Bertin noted that this is like a small school for pastors, and is well received by those that attend. The pastors return to their churches feeling better equipped and ready to bring their new knowledge to their church.
One pastor named Daniel Gmanou said: “I thank God for this wonderful training. Each of the topics covered are important to me and also important to the faithful of the church. I have good memories of this because spiritual growth requires good training.”
Through this project, 34 churches have been planted in unreached people groups in Benin and Tanzania, and 26,000 people have heard the gospel. GAiN is thankful for all that God is doing through WFLI and AFA, and has faith that many more unreached communities will experience the life of hope and abundance that He offers.
When we started the Pastor Support Program (PSP) last year, we didn’t know that pastors would still be feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic a year later. For pastors like Hountondji Pulcherie in Tori Cada Lokossa 1, Benin, the aid received through the program helped her considerably.
“I thank the donors for everything they are doing because I benefited,” the Foursquare pastor said. “I shared it with some members who had, in the meantime, stopped coming to the church.”
As part of our Water for Life Initiative, the PSP was started in Spring 2020 as a way to support pastors who were having a tough time providing for their families during the pandemic. The pastors we’ve worked with have all previously engaged with GAiN over the years that we’ve been working in Benin and Togo. Government restrictions to help limit the spread of COVID meant that churches could not gather as they used to. Many of the congregants even lost their jobs due to the crisis. Even when some churches were able to partially reopen, some church members simply stopped attending. This has affected the church in different ways, as it hindered doing ministry and resulted in reduced offerings. The negative impact was strongly felt by pastors, as some churches had to cut their pastor’s salaries in half.
In July 2021, we started phase 2 of the program. The PSP in Benin completed the first of eight distributions in July 2021. Twenty-six pastors each received a bag of rice, beans, oil, soap, and a small gift for their children. Pastors also attended a three-hour workshop at the GAiN Benin office. They received Bridge to Life booklets to assist them in their evangelism and discipleship work.
In Togo, the first distribution happened in early August. The team planned 15 different distribution sites spread throughout the country so that pastors in different areas didn’t have to travel too far to get their packages.
These distributions have been helpful during this season, especially for those who live in areas where Benin and Togo have experienced an extended drought. The drought has led to high food prices and increased food scarcity.
“I thank GAiN for these gifts that [were] sent [to] me,” expressed Jonas Fangla from the Pentecostal Church of Afekpa in Togo. “I really appreciate it. For this love demonstration, my family and I are very grateful for it. May God bless you a lot and the donors also.”
Komlan Gaglo from Baptist Church of Adeta Akorome in Togo said, “I can’t find the right word[s] to thank and bless God for the life of all staff who remembered me and my family during this difficult time, due to the COVID-19. I pray that God bless[es] you more than what you expected.”
The remainder of the PSP was officially wrapped on September 5. To date, a total of 200 pastors in Togo and 475 pastors in Benin have received support. Our prayer is that this project will continue to bear fruit beyond just providing for pastors’ basic needs.
With pastors receiving support, it’s our hope that they were able to reach those believers who stopped attending church due to the impact of the pandemic.