A Song for Safe Water
Young musicians take the stage to bring clean water in Africa
14-year-old Hugh and his younger brother, 13-year-old Liam, are committed to the cause of clean water—they’re also talented musicians. Hugh and Liam’s family has been partnering with Cross International for a number of years to reach those in need around the world. That’s how Hugh and Liam discovered the dire need for clean water in Africa, and the Chipata district of Zambia in particular. In this region, 76-percent of households lack access to clean, safe water. The consequences for this lack of water can be heartbreaking.
Unsafe water can cause chronic sickness, diarrhea, and even death. Not having easy access to the water they need for drinking, washing, cooking, and cleaning can also lead to back-breaking work for women and children especially. All too often children are forced to miss school in order to make the long and treacherous journey to a distant water source to retrieve heavy buckets of water for their families.
Hugh and Liam want to change this sad reality by bringing clean water in Zambia.


Raising Money for Clean Water
After learning about the clean water problems in Africa, Hugh and Liam’s hearts were moved to help. They decided to use their musical talents to raise money to build a well in Zambia. The brothers began taking their guitars to local restaurants and coffee shops and using their music to spread awareness for the plight of Zambians and encourage donations towards building a well. Check out their donation page

Building Wells in Zambia
Cross International is in the midst of a three-year initiative with the Kachere Development Program (KDP), our long-time partner in Zambia, to construct wells in the Chipata district. One well can provide water for 600 people. The goal of the initiative is to build hand-pump wells in 14 communities across the region. Some of these wells have already been constructed bringing the blessing of clean water to villages that were in desperate need. “I used to suffer a lot by covering a long distance with a bucket of water on my head,” said Naomi, a well beneficiary. “With the new well in my village, I have time to rest, I can attend church services and other social activities in the village. My children are able to go to school and attend classes regularly. May God bless Cross International!”
Hugh and Liam want to make Naomi’s story a reality for more people desperate for clean water. “That’s what we want to do,” they said, “to use our love of music to provide clean water to a village in Zambia.”
Medical Care in Africa: A Young Man Finds Hope on His Way to Healing
In Need of Medical Care in Malawi
Pemphero was born with a bowed right leg, which makes it very difficult for him to walk. Growing up with a disability in Africa was very difficult for Pemphero. His parents didn’t know how to care for their disabled child and he was treated as an outcast. Pemphero suffered tremendous loneliness until his sister got married and she and her new husband invited him to come live with them. He was delighted that they were willing to care for him.

Blessings, Pemphero’s brother-in-law, said, “I saw the need to educate him and find him treatment because nothing was being done.” Sadly, this is often the case with those who need medical care in remote and impoverished areas of Africa. Patients suffering with treatable conditions often have no access to, or cannot afford, the care they need.
One day Blessings heard a radio commercial for Cross International partner CURE. “God spoke to us in a loud way,” Blessings exclaimed.
Hope for Healing in Africa

Cross International supporters like you made it possible for doctors at the CURE clinic to evaluate Pemphero. It was decided that his leg could be corrected by placing it in a frame. Pemphero was nervous, but excited at the possibility of finding healing.
He was also encouraged at meeting other children with disabilities just like him!
Pemphero loves the CURE hospital, but he does not enjoy the frame turns. “It’s painful, but I know tomorrow will be better,” Pemphero said.
Healing on the Horizon

Thanks to Cross International’s faithful friends, Pemphero was able to spend four months in the CURE hospital before finally being sent home with his leg frame. When the time comes he’ll return to the hospital to have the frame removed. Please keep Pemphero in your prayers as he continues his journey towards healing!
A Chance to Go to School in Africa
Education Problems in Africa
At 12 years old, Ayana dreamed of completing her education in Malawi, Africa. Sadly, when her parents divorced, Ayana’s mother was no longer able to pay her school fees. The family was struggling so badly that they would go from relative to relative in search of food and shelter. The inability to pay school fees is one of the most common education problems in Africa. This financial barrier often prevents children from impoverished families like Ayana’s from receiving a quality education. This cycle can keep families in poverty for generations.
Helping Children Go to School in Africa

Through the generous support of friends like you, Cross International is partnering with organizations in Africa that are reaching out to poor families like Ayana’s. In Malawi, that partner is the Ambuya Development Center (ADC). Ayana’s mother reached out and, thanks to supporters like you, Ayana was able to enroll in ADC’s program. Her dream of continuing her education is now coming true!
Returning to the African Classroom
With support for her school fees, Ayana is now able to stay in school. Not only that, she gets to enjoy a hot lunch every day! She enjoys the ADC program, playing with the other children, and making friends. She’s also learning all about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Now that her dream of an education in Africa is coming true, Ayana now has a new dream—to become a doctor so that she can help the sick.
Thank you for blessing children like Ayana with the quality education that can help lift them, and their families, out of poverty. Your support of Cross International has made it possible for Ayana to pursue her dreams. Thank you for giving her hope!

If you want to help more vulnerable children like Ayana stay in school and open the door to escape poverty, please visit our Thriving Kids page and support this cause.
Bringing Life-Giving Water to Zambia



It’s the middle of the night. Your child wakes you up to tell you she’s thirsty. What do you do? Most likely you stumble to the kitchen, turn on the tap, and fill up a cup. Too often, we take our ability to easily meet our basic needs for granted.
Eunice, a mother in eastern Zambia, doesn’t.
She still remembers getting up at 2 a.m. every morning to line up in the dark at her local open well. If she overslept, there wouldn’t be water left to bring home to her children. The worst part about this arduous chore? The water she and her neighbors competed for wasn’t even clean. It made her children sick. It made their friends sick. But it was the only water they had.
Eunice is not alone in her daily quest to find clean water for her family. Only 44 percent of rural Zambians have access to basic safe drinking water services. Only 19 percent have basic sanitation (toilet) facilities. And only 5 percent have easy access to soap and water to wash their hands.
This lack of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) resources is the leading cause of death for young children in sub-Saharan Africa, because it causes diseases like cholera and diarrhea. Poor sanitation is also partly to blame for Zambia’s high child stunting (impeded growth and development) rates. And the lack of WASH facilities in schools keeps students, especially girls, from attending, leading to more teen pregnancies, earlier marriages and limited access to quality jobs.
Health, education, employment—clean water affects every area of life.
That’s why Cross International supports partner organizations like the Kachere Development Program, a church-based ministry that installs community water systems, trains female entrepreneurs, and distributes Bibles in local languages.
Thanks to Cross International donors’ generosity, Eunice’s village now has a working well with clean, drinkable water.
She no longer has to get up in the middle of the night to fetch water. She doesn’t have to give her children dirty water to keep them alive today that would only make them sick tomorrow.
In light of this gift, Eunice gave back, too. She joined her local V-WASH (Village Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Committee to help maintain the well and teach her community healthy WASH practices. They also gather to study the Bible and give thanks to God, the Source of both clean water and “living water.”
Because of the generous gifts of believers like you, Eunice’s children—and the children of her entire village— are growing up healthy, hopeful, learning and loved. Can you help us share God’s love with more children like Eunice’s? We’re raising $515,000 to reach 15,000 children and their family members this holiday season.
Sources: “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene,” Unicef. Accessed 12 November 2019.