As tap water vendors, married couple Caleb and Angelina Sezibera had long depended on water for their living. But until recently, they had given little thought to depending on it for their life. That all changed when Angelina, a mother of three, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After the diagnosis, the Sezibera family found itself plunged into a valley of despair. Busy with shouldering their own burdens of fear and uncertainty, Caleb and Angelina felt powerless to console their frightened children.
Making matters worse, the medication that Angelina had been prescribed for her treatment needed to be taken with filtered water. This placed an additional financial burden on the Seziberas. Not only were they facing expensive medical expenses; they also needed to begin purchasing firewood to boil their water. And even when they were managing to make ends meet, the Seziberas were growing exhausted by their constant need to gather wood, boil water, and keep their dark clouds of anxiety at bay.
At their local church, word eventually got out that the Seziberas were in need. By God’s grace, the church began participating in the Water Project around this same time. As a local project leader, the church’s pastor was looking for people in his community who would benefit most from a household water filter, and he immediately thought of Caleb and Angelina.
Within a short period, Caleb received a SAM3 household filter for his family. Virtually overnight, change began taking root in the Sezibera household.
“I would often go days without taking my medicine because we didn’t have any filtered water. This made me feel much worse,” Angelina shared. Now however, she is feeling consistently healthy, lifting both her and her children’s spirits.
From their small household, hope has also began to spread into the Seziberas’ community. Neighbors began to visit more frequently, to collect filtered water AND offer encouragement and fellowship to Angelina and her children. The experience has motivated Caleb, a member of a local savings group, to encourage other group members to invest in clean water. “I dream of seeing my village adopt a culture of drinking filtered water for their own safety and happiness,” he shares.
Together, having experienced both deep need and deep nourishment, Caleb and Angelina are spreading the wealth they received through this gift from God and their community to more abundantly bless the place they call home.
