Anitha - Jaalna

Bachao! Bachao!!...a 14-year-old young school girl was screaming for help as she fell into the open well while fetching water.

Bachao! Bachao!!...a 14-year-old young school girl was screaming for help as she fell into the open well while fetching water. The people who were working in the nearby fields discovered the sound of crying coming from the well. They rushed to the well and saw her floating on the surface of the water and crying out for help. The villagers tried to pull her up from the water and rescued her. She was reunited with her family.

This incident happened in Devpimplegaon village in Jalna district of Maharastra. Anitha lives in this village along with her parents. She attends school everyday and also helps her mother in all the household chores including fetching water from the open well. Anitha’s father is a daily laborer and her mother also accompanies her husband for work so that they can earn few rupees more to meet their growing needs of their family. As her parents leave for work, Anitha goes to school and keeps her self at home doing petty chores and takes the responsibility of fetching water on her tender shoulders walking through the agricultural fields and muddy roads.

Agricultural open well located in the village outskirts at a distance of ½ kilometer is the only source of water for more than 400 families. The well is also used to supply to the needs of the domestic animals.

They draw water simultaneously using their own buckets standing around the well on the verge of the open well. Since there is no safety wall for the open well, it is very difficult to draw water and there is always a danger of skidding and slipping into the well that is very deep.

One day an untoward incident happened. As usual Anitha went to the open well to fetch a pot of water. At the same time, a lady was giving water for the buffalo near the well. When Anitha lowered her bucket into the well, the buffalo hit her from back. She lost her balance and started to fall into the well. In desperation, she cried aloud for help. The villagers who were working in nearby fields heard her screaming and rushed immediately to the well to save her. The village men jumped into the well and brought Anitha to safety. Her left hand got fractured and it took almost 6 months to restore back to normalcy. She was absent from the school since then could not do her examinations.  This incident kept her from going to school because she was not willing to continue in the same class as her friends were promoted to next class and she preferred to stay back at home and help her family in fetching water. She never goes alone to fetch water. She makes sure that somebody would accompany her while fetching water.

Seeing the dire need for a bore-well and knowing of Operation Blessing India’s Living waters project, B. B. Kamble approached OBI with the request for a bore well in this village. Sensing the need, the Living water team surveyed the area and drilled the bore well in the middle of the village which is beneficial to all villagers. There were all smiles of relief on the faces of the villagers, including Anitha. The villagers thanked the OBI team and the pastor for helping them with a new hand pump. The pastor dedicated the Hand pump and prayed for the people and blessed them. The OBI team encouraged Anitha to continue her studies. The villagers moved by the service of OBI.