The Yellow River can be seen by those living in the mountains. Unfortunately,
tasting its’ water is only a dream for the people of Rakuk village.
For generations, the village has retrieved water from small springs or seeps
located in hollows or ravines located miles down the mountain. If your family
wasn’t fortunate enough to have an animal carry the water, the heavy
burden was left for the women and children. Once arriving at the source,
they drew from muddy and unprotected water contaminated from animals and
humans that led to diseases like Diarrhea, Guinea Worm and Tuberculosis
as well as eye and skin infections.
Rakuk is one of 11 villages in the Kagang area. About 1,400 Tibetan people
have called this dry and barren Chinese mountainside area home for generations.
Rakuk is a farming community of several hundred that grow crops such as
wheat, barley, peas, potatoes and rapeseed. Animals like sheep, goats,
pigs and yaks are held in enclosed courtyards.
The area only receives 14 inches of rain every year which yields little
harvest. This forces family members to leave the area every summer to
work as manual laborers. With such a hard life and insufficient amounts
of fresh water, it is easy to see why basic hygiene and sanitation was
not a priority. But the precious people of Rakuk were in for a tremendous
surprise when they discovered fresh, clean water right outside their front
door.
Several months ago, our Living Waters team came up the mountain bringing
good news. They were going to build a cistern for every household! In
a matter of a couple of months, 110 of the 185 planned cisterns were done.
Rain water is collected in these tanks, allowing families to have up to
a year’s worth of water right outside their front door. The arduous
task of getting water is a memory. We have also taught health and sanitary
education to the various villages.
Huying Wang is one of the grateful people who now have a cistern a few
steps from the front door. “Our dreams have come true,” he
expressed. “Your help is like sending charcoal in snowy weather.”
Yinggang Wang shared his feelings by writing, “A thousand words
can not express our gratefulness. You changed our life and let us drink
sweet water. When I drink the water, I will never forget you.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Help break the cycle of suffering by giving toward Operation Blessing's water wells and cisterns program. A gift of $1,800 can drill a well for villages and supply families with clean drinking water.
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