In a bid to help citizens across India who are facing drought like conditions due to prevailing heat wave conditions, Believers Church, a Christian denomination with congregations and parishes worldwide has set up 101 Bore wells across Maharashtra for the worst affected areas and communities.
“The country is facing severe heat wave and people are facing scarcity of water essential for living and daily chores. People have to walk down several miles to fetch drinking water. Apart from this the farmers are not able to do the cultivation of food grain due to severe scarcity of water. The installation of Bore Wells will not only make their lives easier but also help them in carrying on with cultivation which is their sole means of livelihood,” said Bishop B. K. Lukose who led the exercise. The areas were decided after assessing the severity of water scarcity in various regions of the state in consultation with the local authorities.
“In some cases local politicians came forward and sought intervention. For example we have installed 25 borewells in Amaravati and Yavatmal areas of Vidharba Region after receiving a request from the local MLA Bacchu Kadu”, Bishop B. K. Lukose added. Other Bore Wells were installed in more than 101 villages of Maharashtra in various districts like Chandrapur, Wardha, Nagpur, Gadchiroli and Bhandara. Dr K. P. Yohannan, Metropolitan of Believers Church said: “It is important to ensure that these people get some water supply not only to sustain themselves but also to ensure that farming which is their sole livelihood does not get hampered. We are doing this exercise in other states of the country as well.”
Last month the Mumbai division of the church reached out to the drought victims of Latur by supplying water and food to the 12 most affected villages of the region. Earlier this month, the Church had also installed more hand pumps and tube wells in more than 104 drought affected villages of Uttar Pradesh. Believers Church is a Christian denomination with congregations and parishes worldwide and over 2.6 million followers in ten countries.
The Church at present has eleven Bishops who give spiritual and administrative leadership to the various activities of the Church. The current head of the Believers Church is Metropolitan Bishop, Dr K. P. Yohannan.
The church also undertakes various charitable programs including women empowerment, educational projects, community development programs, rehabilitation projects and relief works. Believers Church has helped over 74,000 children by providing quality education and timely medical checkups under its Bridge for Hope Program.
The Church has set up more than 28,000 toilets and has committed its resources to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help educate people on sanitation under the Swatch Bharat Program. Vocational Training and Health awareness programs have been organised for underprivileged communities. The church has conducted eight-month long free literacy programs, to teach the marginalised sections of society how to write and read.
The church has provided water to communities where drinking water is scarce by constructing bore wells and community water tanks. The church has given sewing machines, livestock, carpentry tools, rickshaws and agricultural equipments to families to generate regular income.
