There are tons of different animals you might see while at Ekitangala Ranch in Uganda….
chickens are everywhere…
all...
there are many various types of reptiles…
and there are lots of goats….
The first day Wes and I were in Uganda in January, he took me on a tour of the ranch property on the "new" side. We spent a lot of time walking around and learning about the buildings, projects & people and just taking it all in. Wes wanted to show me the ponds and we saw lots of animals using them as a watering hole. There were wild dogs, goats and lots of birds. But as I'm sure you can guess and can probably tell by the pictures above, it was some nasty water! This was the height of the dry season & everyone was praying for rain!
A few days later, when I was walking through this area again with some ACM staff members, I saw people form the surrounding villages using their jerry cans (the big yellow cans people in Uganda use to carry water) to collect water from these same ponds. I was shocked to learn that some people are still using these ponds for their drinking water.
It is one thing to hear that (according to the Ugandan Bureau of Statistics) somewhere between 11 & 14 million Ugandans do not have access to clean water…but it is devastating to watch a mother and father collect water from the same source as wild animals. Water that likely carries millions of microscopic parasites and numerous water-borne illnesses that can kill.
The work that African Children's Mission is doing in this area is more than helping local villagers provide clean drinking water for their families, they are using actual water to teach Ugandans about the love of a father that provides LIVING WATER!
John 4:13-14 "Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'."
Anyone who knows me or my sisters, knows that we LOVED the TV show Friends. I'm sure God was laughing at my over-reaction to this family's pets in Nituti Village…a chick & a duck!
(Photo credits: Heidi Angel & Alicia Wilbanks)
