Digging Wells in Mexico

Baptist General Convention of Texas

The "colonia," or neighborhood, of Anapera, Mexico, lies three miles south of El Paso, Texas. This community has 20,000 residents; they are the poorest of the poor, living without water, sanitation and healthcare. Many are hungry. The desert community is blighted by unlimited trash dumping, chemical contamination and untreated sewage, which cause serious illness and reduce the quality of life for its residents.

"Sadly, it is the children who suffer the most," says Terri Morgan, with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. "There are frequent outbreaks of diarrhea, and skin diseases are common. Most of the children will never attend school; they grow up and go to work in the nearby factories for the lowest possible wage. Their future is indeed bleak."

Southern Baptists in Texas decided to do something about this challenge. They designed and promoted a project to drill a well in this neighborhood and provide clean water to its residents. Direct oversight was provided by the El Paso Baptist Association Director of Missions, two engineers, one physician, a pastor and a career missionary. In addition to the well, the Baptists and their Mexican colleagues provided food, medicine and Bible studies for the colonia residents. They also provided training to help residents understand the connection between environmental problems and human health. "The restoration of creation begins at places like Anapera," says Ms. Morgan.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:19).

The Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas is a partner organization of the Evangelical Environmental Network, which has provided a small grant for this well project.

Adapted from an article in Creation Care magazine by Stan LeQuire.