John Muyamba

MAVANZE - A South Korean Methodist church missionary has given the Mavanze community in Ncuncuni, Kavango West access to potable water by donating a new borehole.

Pastor Kyungchan Jun sourced funds through his congregation in the Cheorwon Methodist Church in South Korea.

The handover was done on Sunday. 

“Today, we unveil the borehole and do the groundbreaking to start building the church this month,” said the missionary attached to the United Methodist Church in Namibia.

Jun has been doing missionary work in Namibia since last year, and will be in the country for the next three years.

“About 400 South Korean people collected money, which amounted to N$700 000, donated to the Mavanze church community. The people from South Korea don’t know Namibians, but God is the bridge that connected South Korea and Namibia,” Jun said.

Jun last year visited the Mavanze United Methodist church, which is built with mud walls and a zinc roof, but not well-constructed. It made him sad to see the condition in which the church was, while he was furthermore informed that there was no clean water at the village. He thus decided to source funds from their church in South Korea to drill a borehole and build a church for the community, as well as bring electricity to the church, which will also power the borehole.

Previously, the Mavanze community had been struggling to get water, and have been depending on an open well which was exposed to unhygienic conditions as livestock also drank from the well.

“We have suffered enough due to a lack of potable water. The government, through the councillor’s office, is aware of our situation. The water that we drink is not healthy, and we are only alive by the grace of God. Our water well gets worse during the rainy season as all sorts of dirt gets washed in, while livestock dung also lands in there,” explained pastor Mathias Sinonge of the Mavanze United Methodist church.

“We engaged the new constituency councillor about our problem. She came to assess our water source, and has taken it to the higher levels of government. When our missionary came here and witnessed our situation, he promised to come and drill a borehole for the church that will benefit the entire community. I said thank you Lord,” Sinonge beamed.

Ncuncuni constituency councillor Leopoldine Nseu applauded the missionary for assisting government through the church.

“Churches and government work together for a common goal, which is to improve people’s lives. I came to assess your water source, which was flooded by the rain, and I have taken it up with the regional council. But you are all aware of the financial situation that Covid-19 has put our government in,” she said at the event.

“But thanks to our prayers, God sent our missionary to assist our community. I am aware that this is not for the church members only, but the entire community will benefit, and I am grateful for that. I am thus urging the entire community to safeguard this borehole”, Nseu noted.

– jmuyamba@nepc.com.na