A Well for Sister Fidelis
The hot African sun beats down on the lush landscape of western Kenya. Even amidst bountiful rain that nourishes the greenery, drinkable water can be scarce. The people are forced to dig deeper into the ground until their buckets can reach the cool water from overused wells that have not yet gone completely dry. Water is life, as the saying goes, and in this part of Kenya, finding it is a daily struggle.
Blue skies over Kenya Sister Fidelis of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis (CARITAS For Children's ministry partners in East Africa) took it upon herself to-in her own words-"storm the heavens with prayers" when she discovered that her elderly mother's well had run dry. It was a rough hole in the earth, covered in moss, perhaps unclean, but at least there had been water. Now there was nothing.
The old. dry well Previously, her mother had been able to hobble carefully out to the well and draw water, but once the buckets began to come up dry she knew she was in trouble, forced instead to trek out to a distant stream or send young boys who were willing to fetch the water she needed each day. The daily walk for water can be demanding for young and old alike, but when one must use a cane to walk slowly it can take hours in the blistering sun.
