Clean Water for a Village in Ghana

Today I wanted to share about someone who is turning his compassion into action! First, read this email that was sent to us after we returned from our Ghana trip….it will give you a good idea of his ‘interest’ (he has given me permission to post this):

Jake,

I told you last night that your Ghana blog moved me or more accurately God moved me through your Ghana blog. Either way I have been on the phone with a company who filters and ionizes water. I have been researching companies for some time that can not only provide the cleanest and healthiest water for our home but also for my goat ranch I purchased last November. This afternoon I found the company. It is Life Ionizers at http://www.lifeionizers.com/products/ionizers/commercial-water-ionizers . I spoke with the owner specifically about my needs and in passing he said I really believe I can make a difference in the ‘world’ with my water machines. Of course I dialed into the ‘world’ and ‘make a difference’ part and also that the guy was a visionary and an entrepreneur. I said, ‘there’s one other application I’d like to visit with you about. I have a friend who has just purchased land in Ghana and is starting a school, orphanage, and basketball training center. Their water is horrible there and they need some help. Is this something you could help us with?’ He said, ‘Yes, send me the specs (how many people will need to be provided water) and I will build it myself and donate it to him.’

I loved the guy… He builds everything and because he is visionary I think he will build it for us which will also provide us the ability to sell water at a nominal rate and provide clean water to the community that lives around there. What a great outreach. What a great business opportunity. I believe smaller units could be set up across Ghana that could take care of the entire water problem and at the same time a major part of the health problem in the country. Of course the goats in the back of the pick up trucks can drink it too and get rid of their worms and produce more milk, offspring, etc.

We really need to talk soon.

How bout that my friends? So exciting! Shortly after Jake received this email, he contacted Mark (our go-to-guy in Ghana) to see if he could pass this information onto the chief that we met with and purchased the land from. Jake felt that the first place we should consider putting this water ionizer would be in the area where the chief lives. Well, the chief got together with some other chiefs, and they identified a village in Cape Coast by the name of Ebubonku in which they felt the water project should be started. They sent a few pictures of the water conditions there:

Yes, this murky stream is this village’s source of drinking water….notice the girl with the water bucket in the first picture. And, to think that this is just one of the numerous villages that are fetching water from contaminated sources. During our trip to Ghana every water way that we saw was littered with junk…old food, animal carcasses, feces, and tons of trash….no doubt a main contributor to disease and stomach worms. Obviously, this water ionizer would be very beneficial for this village (and in the future, many others). A few weeks ago Jake also met with our friend who sent us this email. Let’s just say Jake learned A LOT about goats and A LOT about this water ionizer. He also got to taste some of the filtered/ionized water himself, and let me tell you I don’t think he stopped talking about it the rest of the night. During the meeting, Jake learned that not only will this village be getting clean water to drink, but these ionizers also help the health of those drinking it. This ionized water neutralizes harmful acids in the body, rids the body of toxins, and for lack of better terms – basically ‘cleans out’ the body of acid waste. Per the ionizer website, here is a good explanation of how it works: As the body is slowly brought into pH balance by drinking ionized water, it will naturally begin to function more efficiently and problems will begin to correct themselves. One of the most common imbalances people have today that leads to health problems is that they are too acidic. Our body pH should be approximately 7.2 (measured through saliva or urine). The more acidic we are, meaning a 6.6 pH or lower, the greater opportunity we have provided disease to flourish in us.

Makes sense. Ionized water also provides the body with lots of oxygen, which gives energy. I am barely skimming the surface on all the awesome health benefits of this ionizer, but hopefully you’ve gotten a small picture. I wish I would have written down everything that Jake told me about it after his meeting! I will sum up by saying that from everything I’ve heard about these health benefits, this water ionizer is a strong candidate for disease prevention and curative…..perfect for impoverished villages in Ghana!

The other thing that our friend talked passionately about was the impact that this water system could have on the animals that also can drink it. Did you know that goats have the highest rate of disease of any other farm animal? Did you also know that 63% of the world’s meat consumption is goat? I shared throughout my Ghana trip journal that there were goats EVERYWHERE in Ghana! They eat them and milk them and also use their hides for many things like coverings on hand carved drums. This water ionizer could have a profound effect on the ‘goat farming’ in Ghana as well.

So cool to think that this email and action on the part of our friend stemmed from his heartfelt response to my ranting and raving in my Ghana trip journal, and a few pictures of some goats. Now you see how God works in the hearts of His people. And, I love it.