St. Luke’s Grant Helps Zimbabwe Community Build a Well

The people of Beitbridge in southern Zimbabwe have a new community well thanks to a $5,000 grant from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sister Bay.

Beitbridge is in the Diocese of Masvingo, which has a companion relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. Interest in this relationship blossomed when the Rt. Rev. Godfrey Tawonezvi, bishop of Masvingo, visited Wisconsin with his wife, Albertina, and Friar Fungayi Nyandoro in 2019. Since then, the members of St. Luke’s have kept in touch with Friar Fungayi through Pete Thelen, chair of the parish’s Outreach Committee, which paid for the well from parish funds.

Zimbabwe has abundant natural resources and resilient people, but it suffers from political and economic instability, food shortages and disease, so, Thelen said, “We are thrilled to be able to help the people of Beitbridge. We hope this is the first of many shared projects.”