This community is full of people from all walks of life. Sometimes it takes someone to share their story in order for us to appreciate what we have and where we live. We often go about our days and forget about those across the globe who maybe don’t have it as easy.
One City man has reminded us of just that.
Monybany Minyang Dau, a native of Sudan who now lives in Red Deer, has recently launched a project in hopes of giving back to people in his homeland.
The Atar Water Project includes the goal of digging 10 water wells for 10 communities in South Sudan that will ultimately benefit 90,000 people.
The project is in partnership with the Lacombe-based humanitarian organization A Better World.
As part of the launch which was held at CrossRoads Church just last weekend, the documentary The Ladder of My Life was screened. The film tells the unbelievable true story of Dau.
Although he and his family, which includes his wife Susan and their two young sons, have called Red Deer home for several years now, he is burdened about the severe struggles facing his homeland.
South Sudan, which had been through years of unimaginable conflict with its northern counterpart, declared its independence in July of 2011 – but the obstacles have hardly diminished.
Making things worse, he said, is that northern Sudan is still trying to wield its power and influence over land, resources and people of the newly-formed South Sudan.
But by building awareness, Dau is confident that things can improve. People here at home can also support non-governmental organizations that are already working there including A Better World. Helping to provide clean water for villages like Atar is also a literally life-changing step via Dau’s project. Deaths from contaminated water are constant.
People like Dau remind us of how lucky we really are to live in a beautiful city like Red Deer where we have easy access to necessities such as water and food. Although there are some in our community who do struggle, we are fortunate compared to those in other parts of the world, like South Sudan.
Of course it is important to help those in need in our community, but we shouldn’t be limited to that. It’s something that can be achieved as there are frontline workers already living and making a difference in these places. With our support, they can continue to make significant changes in such broken and often war-torn communities.
We can use the resources we have to help better the lives of others across the globe and something relatively simple to us can have a big impact on others.
