Matha Bai

Honwadaz is a small village of 1000 people in Nanded district of Maharashtra state. It is 7 kilometers away from Mukhed which has a fascinating fable about its name...

No more standing in queues for water for Honwadaz’ people

Honwadaz is a small village of 1000 people in Nanded district of Maharashtra state. It is 7 kilometers away from Mukhed which has a fascinating fable about its name. The place was originally called Mohanavati Nagar. The natives of the place believed strongly that the city was enchanted. Once someone came to the city, they would be so enchanted that they would not be able to leave the city easily. They believed it was because of its name Mohanavati which means bewitched. So the people changed it to Mukhed. Mukhed is not very well developed and has poor town planning and roads. Therefore expecting to reach Honwadaz which is 7 kilometers away without any difficulty is a dream.

Honwadaz is not very well developed. Until a few months back, one common scene that anyone would come across is that of long queues near an agricultural bore well. You’d wonder why these people whose occupation is daily wage labor work are all lined up under the hot sun, near this field where the path is narrow and slippery. The answer lied in the water conditions of the village. For the 200 families that lived there the only water source is the agriculture bore well. Even this was left to the mercy of the owner. He often behaved rudely with the villagers and sometimes would not allow them to fill water at the bore well. At such times the people would restore to stealing at a time when the owner was not around. They would detach the pipe and fill the water in their pots. When he came to know this secret, the bore well owner put up a fence around his field and restricted their access even further.

Matha Bai and Venkati a couple who are in their 50’s are affected very badly with this turn of events. They have two sons who are married. The son Datta, his wife Surekha and their little eight year old son stay with the couple. Since the family survives on daily income, Matha Bai’s husband Venkati, the son and daughter-in-law all go for labor work. Matha Bai has to take care of the house, finish her chores at the same time keep an eye on the eight year old boy. The most difficult part of the day was to leave the young kid at home and go to fetch water. She would be worried about his safety till she came back and was reassured by her own eyes that everything was alright. It was the story of every villager who had young ones at home and no one to look after them. They felt that they would suffer like this for ever and no one would even know.

Pastor Devajanaik who saw their problems however came across Operation Blessing India’s Living waters project just in time. He wasted no time in contacting the team with this problem. The living waters team in turn left no stone unturned in reaching the village on time and drilling a bore well in the middle of the village. The villagers who had got used to paying the price of fetching water by spending hours in the sun and bearing in silence the rude remarks were surprised at the water that flowed freely for them, with no conditions attached. Each one expressed their gratitude and said that they felt as if God had seen their troubles and help them through OBI Living waters team.