Students Celebrate the Gift of Clean Water

The students of the Zilla Parishad Government Hight School in Katakoteswaram, Andhra Pradesh held a double Republic Day celebration on 26 January this year. Festivities not only marked the 70^th anniversiary of  India’s constitution, but also the completion of a new 300 ft. borewell, donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which now provides clean drinking water for the school’s 270 sixth through tenth standard students and 11 staff members. 

Students greeted guests with showers of flower petals, waving Indian flags, beating drums and clapping hands. Among the special visitors recognized by Head Mistress Mary Augustus were  Mr. Durga, Secretary to the Village Panchayat, Kollu Srinivas Rao (Chinna), a local Church leader from Rajahmundry, Elder Allen and Sister Janene Jolley of LDS Charities (LDSC), the humanitarian arm of the Church as well as residents from three villages. All participated with the students in the traditional flag raising ceremonies of India’s Republic Day.  

Chinna expressed his satisfaction with the project: “Everybody is happy,” he said. “This is a good day. Everyone is delighted that there is a clean, dependable source of water for these students.” 

Previously, the school had been purchasing and transporting drinking water for use on campus.  Now The School Management Committee will maintain and oversee the operation of the borewell.

LDSC has completed several clean water projects in India in 2018 and continues to work to create water and sanitation systems that are built with local technology and maintained by the community. Funding for projects comes from normal, everyday people who are members of the Church and others, rather than from government grants or large corporate donations.