V Teamer Bryan M. brings clean drinking water to Malawi villagers
Giving the power to go beyond to a country in need.
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Striking water in the village of Mingongo
During the summer of 2017, Bryan M, a Project Manager in Consumer Customer Care Operations, and a group of friends started talking about what they could do to make the world a better place through their church ministry. “I want to build a water well in Africa,” exclaimed one. Initially, the idea was brushed off as unrealistic but soon became serious as they started to believe they could take a huge leap of faith and accomplish this ambitious dream of serving those in need halfway around the globe.
That’s how Malawi H2O was born, and so was Bryan’s cause — to bring fresh, clean drinking water and hope to impoverished villagers in Malawi. Located in East Africa, Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Two years later, in partnership with World Venture and Somebody Cares Ministries, the Malawi H20 project has completed three wells with a fourth ready for construction and plans for a fifth in progress.
Bryan put his project management skills to work and started by arranging partnerships, fund-raising and coordinating logistics. “We began to realize that it wasn’t just a neat idea,” says Bryan. “It’s been extremely gratifying for us, and our passion for the project grew rapidly.”
Bryan M. (front first left) and his team of volunteers with Chief Theresa
Why water wells?
Imagine not having clean drinking water for consumption, cooking or sanitary use. We simply turn the faucet and water runs freely. But for some, water is a precious commodity. In Malawi, a country that has been stricken by disease, women and children make a daily and perilous trek outside their villages to walk miles to retrieve a single bucket of water from a shallow muddy well or a polluted river or stream. “Many women are widows from the AIDS crisis,” noted Bryan. “They risk assault and other threats. Their only sources of water are often unsanitary, leading to disease.”
To combat that, Bryan explains, “The boreholes are dug 300 feet deep and typically last 20 to 30 years. So we expect the wells to impact lives for generations.” So far, three villages, based on need and their ability to maintain the well, now enjoy clean drinking water for the first time. Some village elders never thought they’d live to see freshwater flow freely in their village. Having safe access to clean drinking water has benefited thousands of villagers. The Malawi H2O effort has the ability to provide sustainable water and change the villagers' way of life for years to come. What has this experience taught Bryan? “Don’t ever underestimate what you can accomplish, no matter how small you may think your resources are. We had a crazy idea but we were blessed and a lot of people rallied around our cause and believed in it,” Bryan shares.
Bryan’s cause to bring clean drinking water to villages in Malawi continues to grow through his faith and commitment to help others in need. Bryan’s inspirational message is simple: “It’s not about me, it’s really about the cause.”
