Hidden dangers: For Elisha (pictured) and others, every trip to retrieve water from an old bore well was a dangerous one.

Elisha's foot bears the marks of an infected wound from a cobra bite.

BHILALPUR, India - For the village of Bhilalpur, India, collecting water was a deadly chore. Villagers hiked down a rough path lined with bushes half a kilometer or three tenths a mile away to an old bore well. The well, drilled by the government years ago, was filled with rusty, unsanitary water; however dirty water was the least of the threats facing villagers.

The real danger lay along the trail leading to the well – a prime habitat for cobras and other dangerous reptiles. A danger that Elisha and his wife knew all too well.

"Until the family member comes back home safely from the well, we are restless," said Elisha's wife.

One evening, Elisha, with bare feet, joined his wife and quickly trekked the path to retrieve water. With their arms full of pots to collect water, they were unable to carry a lamp or stick for protection against cobras camouflaged among the bushes.

As they made their way back to the village, the fifty-year-old farmer suddenly stumbled and collapsed, foaming from the mouth as venom from a cobra bite spread throughout his body.

Villagers managed to get Elisha to the nearest hospital just over six miles away where he was treated and survived.

Shortly afterwards, a local pastor appealed to Operation Blessing India for help, explaining the dangerous conditions. OBI responded and drilled a new bore well in a safe location at the center of the village, conveniently supplying the community with clean drinking water.

"We are happy now to have this bore well in the midst of our village. We need not walk through thick bushes late at night for fear of poisonous snake and insect bites," Elisha said. "We want to thank Operation Blessing for this wonderful gift for us that has brought peace and good health to the villagers," he added with a smile.

Operation Blessing continues to break the cycle of water-related suffering around the world by drilling an average of 60 wells a month in India. Since January of 2006, 217 wells and cisterns were completed in parts of Africa, China and India supplying nearly 50,000 people with safe, clean and accessible drinking water.

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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