The Water Project

If you have read Our Story, you know that from the beginning, One By One Ministries grew from conversations about the many needs facing Elijah’s home village of Miramba. Clean drinking water was one of those needs, but it was not until we returned to Congo in 2023 that it became deeply personal.

One day while we were in Miramba, Elijah saw elderly women carrying heavy containers of water from Lake Kivu up the mountain by themselves. Watching them make that difficult journey broke his heart. Later that evening, he came to me in tears and said, “I think we need to do something about this.”

We agreed that we wanted to help, but at the time, we did not feel the urgency from the Lord to begin. Instead, we continued praying and waited for Him to show us when and how to move forward.

Then, in 2024, Elijah woke from a dream. In the dream, he was standing in the village while elderly women, mothers, and children danced and said, “Thank You, Lord! The water has returned to the village!”

We both believed the dream was confirmation that it was time to begin planning.

For years, Miramba had been cut off from its former clean water supply. The closest options for safe drinking water required either an hour-and-a-half round trip by boat to the city or an hour-and-a-half hike to pipes carrying water from a clean river. We began wondering whether water from that river could be brought down the mountain to Miramba.

In September 2024, we reached out to our team and began searching for someone with the knowledge to help us develop a plan. We needed approval from local village leaders, and we needed someone who understood how to move water across such a long distance.

Eventually, Bahati traveled with the man who had built Miramba’s original water spigot. Together, they visited a flowing river two villages away and created a plan to bring the water approximately four miles down the mountain. The project would require building a cistern at the river, laying and relocating pipes, installing a water tank, restoring the village’s broken water system, and eventually adding water spigots throughout the community.

The estimated cost was $8,000.

We had just watched the Lord provide the $6,000 needed to purchase our first piece of land, so we entered this new project full of faith. If He could provide for the land, we believed He could provide the $8,000 needed to bring water back to Miramba.

As we prayed about the project, the Lord also gave Elijah the idea to make it a community effort. Rather than simply funding and building it ourselves, we wanted the people of Miramba to help make it their own. While we raised support here in the United States, nearly everyone in the village contributed in some way—whether by giving financially, digging trenches, relocating pipes, or helping with the work. In December 2024, we shared the vision and began raising support together.

On January 15, 2025, work officially began.

Members of the village started digging up the old pipes, and a few days later, they began relocating them. It was exciting to see the community come together and take part in bringing clean water back to their village.

Just two days after the pipes had been relocated, the years of ongoing conflict in eastern Congo escalated dramatically. M23 rebels took control of the surrounding towns and villages before advancing into Goma, bringing the Water Project to an unexpected stop as fear and uncertainty spread throughout the region.

The airport shut down, boat travel was restricted, and the safety of our family, friends, and team became our greatest concern. As uncertainty spread throughout the region, the Water Project was placed on hold, beginning a season of prayer and fasting for Elijah and me as we sought the Lord for protection, peace, and direction.

Nearly three months later, toward the end of April, we felt the Lord telling us it was time to begin again. The water tank was transported to the village, and on May 1, work officially resumed. The community once again came together and continued the long process of bringing the pipes down the mountain.

By June, after years without a functioning clean water supply, the pipes had finally reached Miramba.

Then, in July, Elijah’s dream began becoming a reality.

Water was no longer only reaching the outskirts of the village—it was flowing freely in the village center. The concrete platform had been completed, and the water tank was in place, once again providing clean drinking water for the community.

There was still more work to do. Over the next few months, our team continued expanding the system so the water would be accessible in more areas. By October, three water spigots had been installed at different points throughout Miramba, along with an additional spigot in a neighboring village.

After years without a functioning clean water supply, the Water Project was complete, and clean drinking water had returned to Miramba.