Profile: Water is real life

Ruth Sovana Nayak
Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research, India
Student

‘Water is a precious gift of God. It shouldn’t be personal, but it is for us all,’ says Ruth.

Once Ruth had refused to share water from her personal well with others in her village. Then later, she herself could not get water, when she had to buy it in the hostel in which she was staying. She realised then that water should be available for all.

Rev. Dr Chandran Paul Martin's paper about the privatization of water impressed Ruth a lot. She says, ‘People are following modern society instead of taking care of water.’

In her own region the Indravati River had been a blessing for the people of the Nabarangapur District, for whom agriculture is the main livelihood. Then, due to insufficient rainfall, the Indravati Dam was constructed to supply water to the farmers for cultivation. But, due to deforestation, over the last few years there has not been any water in the dam in the summer months. In this situation the farmers cannot cultivate crops; thus they are facing health and financial problems and it is becoming increasingly difficult to educate their children.

‘In a few years we are going to face water crises all over the world,’ says Ruth, ‘even though some countries like Nepal have plenty of water.’ She believes that it is our responsibility to enable future generations to find solutions for these impending crises.

‘People are thinking that water is related only with the Bible, but not with real life,’ she says. As a theological student, Ruth believes that she can communicate the water issue to congregations by using the word of God.