Dear Friend,


Wow! 2024 is now in its last moments. Where did this year go? We have so many fond memories of meeting up with some of you this summer. We also have had great let downs due to the loss of some friends and the loss of the ability to drill wells because of flooding.


Yes, one of the driest places on Earth was too wet to drill for part of this year.

Thankfully, we have also had some major triumphs at home and in Niger. The rain has stopped and both of our drilling teams are out completing some of the postponed wells!


Also, in our September newsletter we mentioned our $100K matching grant challenge and the response has been overwhelmingly positive! We are so thankful for the outpouring of generosity.


We are at 73.3% of our 2024 donation forecast and hope to make it to 100% by year-end. When it comes to vision, this year has really stretched us; but our vision for 2025 is expanding even more!

Back in 2019 we drilled ten wells, which was the highest number of wells we had ever reached. But then in 2020, we had a quantum leap forward and doubled the number of wells. Ironically, it was a Leap Year. At that point we made it a goal to match the number of wells drilled to the year. So, in 2021, our goal was twenty-one wells and so on. This year, we are probably going to hit twenty-four wells on the nose, and it happens to be a Leap Year! So, we feel it is time to leap again and double it once more.

We know this sounds optimistically hopeful, but...


our drilling teams believe the need for water is so great that they could easily find fifty new locations that could benefit so much from a well. With that said, we asked Neal in Niamey & Koyejo in Maradi to both create a wishlist of twenty-five drill sites for 2025. Leaping forward once again by doubling the number of wells from the previous year, we hope to drill fifty wells in 2025.

x 50 = Our Goal!

Fifty wells seems crazy, we know. Yet, if we drilled one-hundred wells for the next thirty years, we would only meet three-thousand of the approximate ten-thousand wells that are needed in Niger alone. Thanks to you, we have made an enormous impact over the past fifteen years by drilling 130 wells! Just imagine how many wells we will have drilled in the next fifteen years!


It is so imperative for us to expand our vision every year in order to help fulfill the basic need for water. In the past, we attempted to align the number of wells drilled with the year and we are trying again. In 2025, we plan to drill fifty, in 2026, we plan to drill sixty, in 2027, we plan to drill seventy, and so on... but of course, there’s always Leap Year in 2028.

It’s easy to take life’s essentials for granted. While we wake up each morning and turn on our faucets without a second thought, entire communities in Niger are forced to walk miles just to fill a single container with dirty and contaminated surface water. When a village is trapped in a cycle of illness and poverty due to a lack of clean water, there is no hope in the eyes & hearts of the people, but...

just a single well can completely change their future.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is that the success of a water project isn’t just about drilling a well. It’s about the people. The villages who will rely on this water every single day must be involved from the start—before a single drop of water is pumped from the ground.

Too often, other water charities operate with a one-way model:

~Give resources, leave, and hope the community figures it out.~

That’s not how we work at Wells 4 Wellness. Instead, we have close, trustworthy friends living in Niger that we chat with regularly. They are onsite empowering village communities to become stewards of their own water supply. We provide training on well maintenance and repair, ensuring that a few designated members of the community can troubleshoot and fix problems if they arise. This approach ensures the well continues serving the village for years to come.


We feel so blessed to have come alongside such an established, responsible, and mutually dedicated team. Feel free to learn about the backstory of our friendship on our “ABOUT US” page.


Involving the community from the start and training them to manage the well creates a profound sense of pride and responsibility. This was especially evident in the village of Tamroro. Many years before, the locals received an open pit well from a government agency, but the well had fallen into disarray due to lack of proper care and maintenance.

When our team saw this old well, we knew we needed to do something different. The village had a church, a school, and had plans to build a clinic so they formed a water committee of sorts to make sure the future well to be drilled will always be functioning correctly. They established rules to regulate water use and collected small fees to fund future repairs.

So, in 2020, Wells 4 Wellness drilled a new well and it became more than just a source of water—it became a symbol of self-reliance. As the village realized they no longer had to wait for help to come, they could take care of themselves.

The people of Tamroro bound together with a vision for a clinic. So, with the new well, they were able to form mud bricks and then construct the clinic they had dreamt of. When my team and I heard of the clinic, we knew there would be a population boom and a future need to have a dedicated water supply, just for the clinic. So, in 2024, the village of Tamroro received their second well from us and the clinic nurse is so very happy!

When you are generous in giving to Wells 4 Wellness your donation doesn’t just change lives; your donation is an investment in people. When you contribute, you are not only hiring our amazing friends that drill the wells, you are also giving a child a chance to make it past their fifth birthday, a chance to go to school, you're providing a mother with the ability to keep her family healthy, giving fathers a chance to provide for their families by watering their crops and livestock, and you're sparking hope in communities that desperately need hope. Each well is more than just a borehole with a fancy pump. A well is a promise of a brighter future and a physical reminder that children can now start to have dreams for what their lives could be.



The change you create ripples far beyond the surface. Health improves, education thrives, and entire regions are empowered. By giving to Wells 4 Wellness, you’re not just donating to a charity; you are investing in lives. Each well drilled, each drop of water, and each life changed is a victory!


We are so excited about the wells that are already drilled, and excited about the wells that are going to be drilled. Yet, mostly we are overwhelmed with gratitude for you and your generous heart.

In addition to your loving donations, we need your help. Please pray for us, our team, our equipment, and for the people who have received a well and those who will receive one soon. We have many challenges facing us here in the States, but even more so in Niger with the current political unrest and constant threats from extremists. Thankfully, we have never had a well damaged or taken over. Pray for continued safety for our wells, the people they serve, our drilling crews, and pray for the continued ability to drill wells in the places that need them most.


In addition to prayer, we need your help to spread the word. The more people like you that know about the Wells 4 Wellness family, the more lives we can reach with the blessing of clean water. Feel free to invite others to watch the documentary, share Wells4wellness.com on your social media, and enjoy the enclosed brochure, but then give it away.


Our favorite section on our website is the “WELLS” page, so take some time to visit. There you will see the latest photos, videos, and stories of how fresh, clean water has benefitted those who use each well.


Will you make a year-end donation to Wells 4 Wellness? With your support we will reach our goal of fifty wells in 2025! Hope to hear from you soon.


Much love to you & many thanks.


Sincerely,

Pat Herath - Founder & Executive Director

Wells4wellness@gmail.com - 309.236.1301.

Willie Herath - Operations Director

Willie@wells4wellness.com - 310.721.1538.

Wells 4 Wellness, Inc.

P.O. Box 233 Moline, IL 61266

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