WELL4AFRICA NEWS AND ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and good!
“Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.” (St. Francis of Assisi, The Canticle of the Creatures, 1225)
This year when the Franciscan Family celebrates the Centenary of the Canticle of the Creatures, we reflect on its verse about sister water as a spotlight of the social initiative “Well4Africa”. As you all know, that the aim of “Well4Africa” is to drill boreholes and install wells in poor African areas where the Franciscan Family is present, in order to bring sister water to thirsty people and provide the local population with clean and fresh water. This would allow women and children to avoid walking long distances to bring this important and essential resource from sources which, in a large number of cases,are poor, scarce, and contaminated.
All year round “Well4Africa” is ready to accept applications from English, French and Portuguese speaking countries in Africa. Project application criteria and guidelines are available here.
Thanks to the joint effort of the Secular Franciscan Order and our benefactors, since 2018, the social initiative “Well4Africa” has already implemented 13 water projects: Namane water project in Malawi (2018), Kihani water project in Uganda (2018–2019), St. Lawrence water project in Kwipululu, Malawi (2019–2020), Sibi water project in Ghana (2020), St. Peter’s water project in Masenyane, Zimbabwe (2020), Shisong water project in Cameroon (2020), Kongo water project in Ghana (2020–2021), Mutemwa water project in Zimbabwe (2021), Afua water project in Cameroon (2021), Mbohtong water project in Cameroon (2022), Kanafa water project in Ethiopia (2022), Bagnai-Moulvoudaye water project in Cameroon (2023), Bambui water project in Cameroon (2024).
Follow all news of the social initiative on the well4africa.eu website which is available in 8 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, and Lithuanian. Support “Well4Africa” by following and sharing our social media: Instagram @well4africa.eu and Facebook @well4africa.eu.
We hereby provide the report on implemented and ongoing “Well4Africa” water projects in 2024.
Bambui water project in Cameroon
Bambui is situated in the Tubah Sub-Division in the North West Region of Cameroon. It is the first place where the Capuchin friars have settled and initiated the first OFS presence in Cameroon. Today, it is home to the constituted OFS Bambui St. Claire fraternity.
Due to the war in the English-speaking region of the country, many young students have left for the French-speaking region to seek refuge and go to school there. This fact has drastically affected the population of Bambui village and caused a serious water shortage in the area,2 especially for poor children who cannot afford renting in hostels that have their own wells. The neighbouring village called Bambili has many secondary and higher education institutions (State University, Higher Teacher Training College, School for Agronomy, etc.), and the student population in the area exceeds one million.
The Capuchin friars constructed a Foyer for the poor children on their own land in Bambui. The new house features 4 spacious dormitories and 46 rooms, providing accommodation for 100–150 underprivileged children who will have the opportunity to attend school. With the present water shortage, the village source couldn’t be connected to the new buildings. The Foyer is close to the Capuchin friary, but the well of the friars has a very limited water supply in the dry season and is not clean enough.
The Bambui water project consisted of drilling a borehole, building a water tank, installing two water tanks of 5,000 litres each, connecting a solar pump, and building two water tap stands. The borehole is 80 metres deep and guarantees water all year round, especially in the dry season. The water taps are installed next to the Foyer at the main road, providing access to thousands of children on their way to schools and universities.
The OFS Bambui St. Claire fraternity is responsible for the maintenance of the Bambui water project. The parent-teacher association is ready to cooperate in case some repair work is needed, as they see the great help this project is rendering to the school children. “Though the school children are the main beneficiaries of the water project, the entire village practically rejoices for the God-given gift, as water is carried almost every second since it was connected for use”, fr. Aloysius Ngombi Kongnyuy OFM Cap said on behalf of the Capuchin Friars Minor Custody of St. Francis of Assisi in Cameroon.
The works were implemented by Njanka Construction LTD and Naven Construction LTD from April to December 2024. The amount donated to the project was EUR 11,144. A video about Bambui water project in Cameroon is available here.
Ongoing water projects
The “Well4Africa” social initiative continues collaboration with the Franciscan Capuchin Friars Mission in Ghana, starting the implementation of the third water project.
Weini village in Nkwanta-North District, Oti Region is home to around 420 families who lack access to clean water. They rely on the Kpassa river which is 2 km away, but drinking river water is not safe. During the rainy season people collect rainwater, but there is a great need for a safe and sustainable water source. As Weini is a farming community and has no school, the children are forced to work on farms. The Franciscan Capuchin Friars have established an evening school called La Sapienza, the aim of which is to educate children in the evening hours. The new water project will support the health and well-being of the community and students.
The Weini water project involves drilling a borehole and installing a solar pump, which operates without a battery and provides a water supply for up to 11 hours a day, as well as building a poly tank raised on pillars and 3 metal taps allowing villagers to easily fetch water. The project will greatly benefit the community, providing safe drinking water and reducing the need for children to fetch unsafe water. This will improve the health of the children and pregnant women, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. The amount donated to the project is EUR 6,467. In December we received news on the completed drilling of the borehole at Weini and plenty of good and clean water. Now the rest of the work must be carried out to complete the project.3
Let us organize a fundraising for “Well4Africa”!
We greatly appreciate the support of all OFS national fraternities, which regularly transfer their donations. The analysis of annual income, expenses and balance of “Well4Africa” budget is provided on the table below.
We never tire of repeating thar every regular (monthly) donation to “Well4Africa” can make a real impact on the life of our Franciscan Family in Africa. There is a possibility to donate to “Well4Africa” via PayPal or with Debit or Credit Card offering one-time, monthly or yearly donations. For other possible ways of donation, please refer to https://well4africa.eu/index.php/donate.
The “Well4Africa” Coordination Team has prepared a roll-up as a visual presentation of this social initiative of the Secular Franciscan Order. Please see its English version on the last page of this report. If your National Fraternity wishes to organise a fundraising using this roll-up, we will gladly design the same layout in your language. We kindly ask you to contact us by email at well4africa@gmail.com. We would like to express our appreciation to all national fraternities which have assigned their “Well4Africa” contacts by countries. New contact persons are very welcome to join our team!
Dear brothers and sisters, let us conclude with the words our General Minister Tibor Kauser OFS said during the Opening of the Centenary of the Canticle of the Creatures in Assisi on 11 January 2025: “Sister water is essential for life. She is not only useful, but we cannot live without her. How great would it be if we could be running together with her and giving life! Praised be you, Lord, for sister water, the useful one! Sister water is humbly serving either at washing the feet (cf. Jn. 13.5) or changing into wine to give joy (cf. Jn. 2.8), or to be the road under the feet of Jesus (cf. Mt. 14.25), all being this at the disposal of the Lord. Let us start washing the feet, giving joy, and giving way to the Lord, humbly!”
Fraternally,
Virginija Mickute OFS
Main coordinator of the social initiative “Well4Africa”
International Councilor of the OFS Lithuania
Jogile Teresa Ramonaite OFS
National minister of the OFS Lithuania
Ana María Raffo Laos OFS
CIOFS Presidency Councilor, member of the JPIC Secretariat
Lithuania, 18 February, 2025
