Participants of the 9th assembly of the All Africa Conference of Churches, 7-12 December 2008 in Maputo, Mozambique, share their views about the significance of water.
At this the 9th assembly of the AACC we affirm that water is becoming a scarce commodity, we encourage governments not to use it as a privilege but as a right for people. Metsi ke botshelo - water is life.
David J. Modiega, general secretary, Christian Council of Botswana
Water is becoming a scarce product in my country and things are becoming worse. I used to have water coming to my taps 4 days a week and now we only have water for 2 days in a week.
The Mau forest that forms the water catchment area for seven rivers has been grabbed by politicians from that area who subdivided the land into smaller pieces and sold it to landless people. The people who bought the land are clearing the forest for agriculture by cutting down the trees; and soon there will be no water to drink, the animals will have no pasture as the source of these rivers is being destroyed at a very fast rate. The government is still "negotiating" with the people in the forest. They fear evicting them since these people voted for them on the basis that the government will let them live in the forest if they come to power. I wish we could stop politicising water issues as water is life.
Angeline Okola, Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network, Kenya
To me, the church would be the first to talk about the situation of water because I feel that God taught Adam and Eve they were to care for the environment which included the rivers that were passing through the garden of Eden.
This responsibility to look after creation was given before the fall of man (Genesis 1-2). When we are in good relationship with God we have to care for his property which he has given to us.
Rev. Bossman Chitheka, vice-chairman, Malawi Council of Churches
If you love God, you love creation. Because creation is the work of God entrusted to us to look after.
H. E. Seraphim Kykkotis, archbishop of Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa
Abundance of water means abundance of life. Making water a commercial commodity is a sin - because the poor will not afford it, thus depriving people of their life and God-given right to water.
Seabata Makoae, Christian Council of Lesotho
Water, H20, maji Water is a free gift from God. It brings life to dryness. Like the embodiment of God's Spirit, water resfreshes, renews, and revitalizes creation. It flows where it wills.
Therefore, privatizating water is like the arrogant greed of trying to monopolize and control the flow of God's Spirit.
Fulata Moyo, WCC programme executive for Women in Church and Society, Switzerland/Malawi
Really, we should not pollute water, nor put waste into the water because water is the main source of life. You can go without food, water you cannot go without. Water is the best resource in our daily life.
Agnes M. Ncaagae, Christian Women Fellowship, Botswana
People did not understand what we mean by environment when we said that churches must care for it.
Climate change began to make us aware of the importance of the environment but water is making us realize, with a sense of urgency, that it is the source of life that must be protected.
Bishop Geoff Davies, Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute, South Africa
As a development worker, I am a witness of how development is hampered without water.
But I am also a witness of how little our churches are doing toward this. I also see how much more we can still do, not only to avail water to thirsty communities but also to sustain the ecology. This assembly has revived my vigour to address the challenges the church is facing.
Augustine Mwaimu, Anglican Church of Tanzania
In Exodus 17 we read that the Israelites arrive at a place in the desert where there is no water, and they cry out in distress to Moses.
In the same way today, there are 1.1 billion people without access to adequate, safe drinking water, 2.6 billion without adequate access to sanitation and 2.4 million face death as a result of water-bourne diseases. They too are crying out, for water, sanitation, health and dignity.
Shaun D. Cozett, South Africa
The main claim with people today is that there is no rain anymore. But we have heavy rain in a short period. All we have to do is be prepared for it when it comes.
The biggest resource of transformation is the people, the commitment of the community, not the money. Money should be the oiling system that enables that process of transformation. Ownership of projects is more important than the structures. In Utooni village in Kenya, the community has made the water level even rise through water harvesting and soil conservation!
Joshua Mukusya, Excellent Development, Kenya
