Indian Wells
Indian Water Wells
Sometime in 2009 Deacon Lloyd met Rev. Lonappan Arangassery from Karalla India while Fr. Lonappan was conducting a mission appeal in the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. At some point in the discussion Fr. Lon shared with Deacon Lloyd the fact that the Indian government subsidizes the drilling of water wells in certain areas and under certain circumstances but he did not know all of the details nor was he able to give a contact for Deacon to follow up with. Soon afterwards, another Indian priest, Fr. Ramaji Shoury, came to the diocese to serve for a time. Fr. Shoury was familiar with the program and had very good contacts in order to get more details. In 2009, the cost of drilling a community well in India was $1500 which was about one-third of the cost of a well in Haiti. The Indian government would also work with the communities to maintain the well. HMI received some funding that had no restrictions as to where a water well could be drilled so it was decided to fund three wells in India. The wells were drilled and reports were furnished which indicated a good quality water was located at each site. HMI was shortly thereafter presented with at least forty requests from communities all over India to consider drilling wells for other villages. As resources came available, HMI funded several other projects as shown in the list below. HMI considers it a special blessing to be able to bring potable water to these children and families in areas of India that, because of politics and religious and ethnic prejudices, have been denied access to certain water sources.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
“You will do greater works than I do!” John 14:12
Rev. Ramaji Shoury – Indian Well Facilitator for HMI
What are the benefits of drilling a well for a community?
Perhaps you’re wondering what type of long term impact drilling a water well in a community will be. First and foremost, you are giving people the best medicine in the world - potable water - which is a priceless gift of health, love and compassion for which we at HMI and the families we serve will be forever grateful.
There are four main benefits however to having a water well in a community.
- Reduce disease that comes from drinking polluted water.
- Give families, schools, hospitals, etc easier access to good water for drinking, washing, and bathing
- Improve quality of life and reduce disease by enabling better hygiene
- Improve health by enabling better hydration, an important requirement in a hot climate
