Water evangelism

Cover Story for June 16, 2005

Following the disastrous tsunami that hit the island of Sri Lanka last December, potable water was among the first needs faced by thousands of homeless people and it remains a top priority. Virginia Baptists are among other groups that are making it available to Sri Lankans.

By Bill Latham

Life wasn’t easy in Telwatta even before the tsunami. Now, those who survived the crashing waves of devastation on Dec. 26 are being devastated by another kind of disaster—despair.

Kumary P., a small woman by western standards, is among the survivors. Although she and her husband and child survived, along with her two sisters, her parents died on that fateful day. Kumary considers herself more fortunate than many, but dealing with the loss of her parents and all of her household goods has been difficult.

Her sisters asked what her own heart was wondering: “When will this disaster end?” The initial horror of her parents’ death and the awful fear that more waves might follow have subsided somewhat, but now the work of rebuilding has begun. Kumary and her family have moved back into what is left of their house, but all around them lie grim reminders of what they and the others in Telwatta have lost. Few fishing boats remain to go out, and those that do have a hard time selling their fish. It seems people have lost their taste for fish—fish they suspect may have been feasting on tsunami victims still lying on the bottom of the ocean.

In despair she turned to Father Freddy for help.

Father Freddy, as he is simply called in Sri Lanka circles, is a full-time Sri Lankan Baptist minister. His duties are many, but now the revered pastor did not know what to do.

Finally he told Kumary that he “does not have the answers for her now but do not give up hope.” These are empty words five months after a disaster.

This scene is not unique. Overnight 100,000 families were made homeless by an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia whose fault was the size of California. Thirty-eight thousand people lost their lives on Sri Lanka alone and 2,000 perished in a single train derailment in Paraalyia, the closest village to Telwatta. Many lives were touched by the power of the tsunami; now lives will be touched by the love of God and with the help of Virginia Baptists working together.

A formal cooperative has been formed by 19 Baptist groups. Together we will help rebuild the lives of some, though unfortunately not all, of the families of Sri Lanka.

Many Baptists have offered help on Sri Lanka. The Hungarian Baptists were the first responders, dashing in within days after the disaster to set up food, water and medical facilities.

A second, more deliberate, effort has been undertaken with the help of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionary Scott Hunter and local Sri Lankan Baptists. Hunter will be the man on the ground in Sri Lanka and will assist Sri Lankan Baptists to build a new village. Most tsunami victims would prefer not to rebuild villages close to the coast. Who can blame them—nobody knows when the next tsunami will come. A seven-acre parcel of land two miles from the coast and on a hill, has been purchased for this purpose. On this land 80 small homes will be built by local craftsmen. A community center is in the offing and Hunter will supervise its construction over the next year. Hunter’s job is to make sure that cost over runs do not kill this project mid-stream. In order for this village to succeed it is imperative that there be accountability. Father Freddy represents the Sri Lanka Baptist Convention, while Hunter represents the interests of contributing Baptists. If the plan goes as scheduled, this time next year the village will be built and occupied.

This village is not a hand-out but a hand-up. There is the story in Matthew of the lame man waiting for the waters to be stirred in order to be healed. Jesus asked the lame man if he truly wanted to be healed because not everybody with their hand out wants to be healed. The lame man told Jesus that he did want to be healed and Jesus healed the man.

The local population is much like the lame man at the pool. They have demonstrated their willingness to help themselves by not waiting for help to arrive. They recognize that not everybody who makes grand promises is capable of keeping them, so many have begun with the help of friends and neighbors to reconstruct homes that were damaged but still some distance from the shore. It is literally neighbor helping neighbor.

There also are volunteers from Habitat for Humanity who are re-constructing homes, as well many other groups and individuals. Baptists will help Baptists to reach a community of non-believers. It is an ambitious plan and requires missionary Hunter to live on-site.

“This is not going to be a project that is run by a management team 100 miles away,” Hunter explained. “I will be living and working with the Sri Lankans to assure that the project stays on course and does not experience the cost overruns so frequently experienced when the Western monies are involved.”

Hunter is uniquely qualified for his role. He has lived in the region for more than a decade, working in Indonesia, Thailand and India. His hobbies are water purification and the harnessing of wind and sun as a source of power. He has had plenty of experience in water purification and is a strong advocate of the process called slow-sand filtration.

“The principle dates back to the time of Moses,” Hunter explained. Ancient Egyptians discovered that ground water was cleaner than surface water. Therefore, if ground water could pass through a column of sand then it will be scrubbed clean by the sand particles.

Actually, it is much more complicated than just scrubbing water with sand. The process is intensely biological. The first one inch of sand is an ideal substance for bacteria and microorganisms to adhere. Bacteria in the top layer of the sand does the cleaning. The process provides water that is better than 99 percent clean.

But there is a catch. In the field of water purification 99 percent is not good enough. For water to be of drinking quality it must be 99.99 percent clean. Make no mistake—going from rancid to 99 percent clean is a big leap. It is the last 0.01 percent where the process gets technical. At this point water can be boiled, chlorinated or illuminated with an ultraviolet light. But 99 percent looks a lot better to a refugee who has been boiling the soiled water of some low area.

Hunter has provided his services to communities in Indonesia and even placed one of his systems in a hospital. He is always tinkering with the system to make improvements. The best part of all is that the system is so “low tech” that the locals like it and it only takes a few minutes to become familiar with maintenance procedures, which usually involve the simple process of back-washing or scraping off the top one inch of sand. The system indicates when it needs to be cleaned by slowing down to a drip.

So what does water purification have to do with the planned community? If left to their own resources these fishermen would survive. It might not be pretty, but they would survive. The human spirit is bigger than any disaster. But with the help of a local group of Baptists, Hunter’s hobby can become a pathway to a better way.

Kumary will one day get a house she can turn into a home. If things go as planned, she and her family will be one of the first to take advantage of the new village. Not only will she enjoy a new home—one which she will own if she stays and works in the community for five years—but she can be part of something bigger. She can be part of the kingdom of God, all because Baptists care.

Hunter will need some help in the upcoming months. He hopes to enlist volunteer teams from Virginia, North Carolina and Texas. This is a wonderful opportunity to become familiar with the ancient art of water purification. There is a tendency for people to shy away from what they do not know. Hunter feels this should not stop someone who is truly interested in water purification. He has the experience and a tremendous amount of background knowledge to draw upon.

And if one felt that working with water purification via sand filtration was too low tech, try adding the Scott Hunter twist by operating a photo-voltaic and wind mill that continuously charges AGM batteries to run a small pump and a UV light. The system is as low tech or high tech as you are capable of understanding.

Maybe the volunteer’s talents lay elsewhere. Hunter is in need immediately of someone with surveying skills to lay out the village. He can contract it out locally but he would like someone with basic surveying and urban planning experience to back him up. And there is always the need for support personnel. Carpenters and handymen are needed to work side-by-side with Sri Lankans.

Most Americans may not initially appreciate Indian cuisine and it would be helpful to have someone whose sole responsibility is to work in the kitchen. This person should be creative. Sri Lankans use many of the same foods we do—they just prepare them differently. There is nothing like a plate of fresh papaya sliced like peaches to start your day, washed down with a glass of freshly-squeezed mango juice. There is also a need for women to volunteer for cultural exchange. These volunteers will not witness directly but by interacting will show God’s love.

Many people worry about language barriers. There are two national languages but English is the language of commerce. Anyone interested in experiencing the third world and an equatorial island not unlike Hawaii will never have a better chance.

Anybody for a game of cricket?

Special to the Herald

Bill Latham, a member of West Side Baptist Church in Harrisonburg, has participated in mission partnerships through Virginia Baptists and has assisted in a number of Virginia Baptist disaster relief projects. He recently helped missionary Scott Hunter assess water purification needs in Sri Lanka as part of a tsunami relief program with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Latham is employed in the biology department of James Madison University.