Friday, March 15
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. –John 4:7
In 2007, after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree from LeMoyne College, Gabriel Bol Deng went home to visit his village in South Sudan. He was looking for his parents and his siblings; he didn’t know if any of them had survived. While he was devastated to learn that his parents and most of his brothers and sisters did not survive, he was overjoyed to find two brothers and a sister living in the village.
While he was there, he saw young boys sitting outdoors, under a tree, trying to learn to read and write. There were no trained teachers and no instructional materials. There were also no girls there, because girls spent much of their day getting water for their families. Gabriel became determined to build a school there, a school for both boys and girls.
Gabriel founded the HOPE for Ariang Foundation to raise money. On return trips to Ariang, he met with village elders and realized the first step was to construct six hand-pump wells, including one at the site where the school would be built.
It took time to build the wells and raise enough money to build the school too. The school building was finally completed in 2011. Now the school houses 500 students–130 of them girls. The on-site well has enabled the girls to attend. They can come to school and, after their classes, fill their water jugs and carry the water home.
God, we pray for faith in the possibility for change, for the capacity to listen carefully, and for creativity in seeking solutions. Amen.