CALLED TO BURUNDI

John, from Texas, and Caelene, from South Africa, married in Cape Town in 2004. They spent many years living in Texas and raising their three wonderful children, Judah, Levi, and Victoria. John worked for Starbucks Coffee for around 15 years. During that time he gained a Bachelors in Business and Finance and then went on to complete an MBA. Caelene had a Social Work degree, which lead her to a job in Texas doing Refugee Resettlement. Multiple African nationalities were entering the USA at that time; Caelene’s primary work was with Burundians.

With an increasing number of connections to Burundi and conversations about Burundi, they decided it was time for a  visit. These early trips lead to the start of a small water project in 2015.

By 2016, they were making preparations to move to Burundi.
May-July of 2017, the Peakes completed a valuable missionary training course at Missions Resource Network http://www.mrnet.org.

 The family arrived in Burundi August of 2017; with the water project well underway. The Peakes are devoted to a longterm mission of serving in Burundi. Their dream is to see all of Burundi have access to clean water and for the project to serve the Body of Christ in many ways. Amazi Water partners with the Church; aims to encourage the church, preach the Gospel, and donate Kirundi Bibles to pastors.

The Peakes are committed Christians. They recognize the hand of God daily, and experience His grace and guidance each step of the way in this challenging endeavor. Life is both difficult and joyous for the Peake kiddos! Life without malls has its advantages! Learning other languages and interacting with other cultures can be hard and amazing all at the same time.

When the Peakes are not working, they are hiking, biking, swimming, or dancing in their living room! 

ROBERT and ELIZABETH VANMAN

As a successful technology entrepreneur and a passionate Christ follower, I have a deep desire to be a great steward of the resources that God has entrusted to me.  To be a great steward, I believe we must find ways to make the greatest social and eternal impact possible from our finite resources.

Bringing clean water to communities that lack access to clean water transforms those communities and fundamentally changes the lives of the children and families who live there.  Communities that lack clean water often have child mortality rates above 20%, plus they suffer from continuous health problems, reduced productivity, stressed family dynamics, and education is often hampered because the children are usually responsible for collecting water from distant sources. Providing those communities with a deep water well that provides year-round clean water can reduce the child mortality rates to low single digits, greatly improve overall health, and free up time that helps to increase productivity and education.  Clean water is the base foundational building block that helps communities rise above abject poverty – and until water is addressed, nothing else can be very effective.

Burundi, sometimes called “The Forgotten Country,” has been the perfect storm. Years of civil war have decimated the infrastructure and the economy, making it one of the poorest countries in the world, with a large percentage of their population lacking access to clean water. Burundi is also densely populated and has extensive underground water tables, which makes deep water wells particularly cost effective when measured by “cost per person served.”

After learning that the major water charities were not working in Burundi because there were no effective in-country water partners, we decided to create Burundi’s first and only in-country, dedicated water organization – we call Amazi Water.  We have purchased our own drilling rigs, hired GIS engineers, hydrogeologists, construction teams, community workers, extensive staff, and have made it our mission to bring clean water to the entire country of Burundi.  Now, Amazi Water has become the de facto, in-country water partner for many other organizations, including UNICEF and World Vision.

When I add everything up; the critical need, the cost effectiveness, and the massive impact of these water projects, I have concluded building water wells in Burundi Africa has the most social and eternal impact I can make with my resources.  That is why I’m all in.