What a delight to pull LuAnn & Wayne Yocky’s name out of the hat in our “Wear in the World” drawing! We had a lot of fun with this T-Shirt Campaign on Facebook. Thank you to all our participants! And thanks to those of you who liked, commented and shared the fun. We are grateful to Walk4Water7 Corporate Sponsor, Nicoletta’s Table, for also sponsoring this campaign with a $25 gift certificate for the drawing winner.
Wayne & LuAnn Yocky with Dr. Ray Norman at W4W7
Speaking of the winner: LuAnn Yocky, Senior Advisor, National Leadership Council for World Vision, played an integral role in the history of WaterAfrica. Here’s a brief look back:
When WaterAfrica Founder Bill Savage was in Zambia with Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in 2005, he asked LuAnn if he could see the water source for a village they were visiting. LuAnn arranged for Bill to meet and walk .5 mile with a lady to a dry stream bed where she collected water for her family’s use. You can read Bill’s reflections on that Walk here.
Out of that experience Bill felt compelled to respond. After returning home he arranged meetings with LuAnn to see how he might get involved in bringing safe, accessible water to this lady and others like her. Bill recalls, “LuAnn spent hours listening and answering my questions. Right from the start she was very encouraging.”
LuAnn’s deep love for the poor and her commitment to transformation on both sides of the bridge (donor to field) has been her life’s work. She has been recognized within World Vision as a champion of water projects and WaterAfrica knows why! Bill’s conversations with LuAnn allowed her to connect him with people and create
Bill’s early commitment to raise money for 5 borehole wells in Zambia didn’t stop there. WaterAfrica was born out of that work and the organizational structure and mission evolved so that now we focus not just on bringing clean, safe Water to rural Zambians, but also Sanitation and Hygiene resources. LuAnn was instrumental in facilitating relationships and opportunities so that WaterAfrica could effectively take up the WASH cause in Zambia.
As we work to Raise Awareness, Raise Funds & Transform Lives now, nearly 10 years later, WaterAfrica is part of an expanded network of donors supporting a comprehensive World Vision WASH program in Zambia.
Working Together. Changing Lives.
