A Memorial Fund was established after Ciara’s passing from this earthly life, with the inspiration to bless children somewhere. Many relatives, our church family, friends, and co-workers of Ciara’s parents contributed their financial gifts.
With the help of Ciara’s children pastors at Lenexa Christian Center, the idea was birthed to provide a gift to children that would keep giving for many generations to come. The idea to provide water to children touched our hearts, so the search began to determine which missionary project to fund. It would be the heartbeat of our daughter, and her love for the mission field to find something that would help other children.
Wells for Life Organization was discovered, their mission to bring physical water (preventing sickness and disease) and sharing living water (Jesus) to children and their families, would be something Ciara would have desired to do so.
In March 2010, all funds collected in Ciara’s memorial fund were donated to the Wells for Life Organization to provide clean, safe drinking water to rural villages and communities in need. Over the next couple of months, Wells for Life worked in partnership with DPWA to bring water to children at the RC Primary School in Pudukottai, India.
Pudukottai is a village in Perambalur District of Tamilnadu, India. The village has a population of 3,200 people with approximately 800 families; 650 Catholic, 50 CSI Christian, and 100 Hindu families. There are three elementary schools; one by CSI, one by the Catholic Mission and one by the Govt. RC Primary School is run by the Catholic Diocese with 250 children who are given free education. The families of these 250 children are landless laborers. The school did not have a drinking water facility for years, there was a inadequate public water system providing water by the Govt. which is 100 meters away to service the water need. Sometimes the public water system would fail; the children would have to roam in to the water pump outside the village.
In June 2010, elementary school age children were blessed with a deep bore well hand pump. A statue and hand pump was unveiled and dedicated in “Ciara Dykes” name in an elaborate ceremony to celebrate the gift of providing viable safe, clean and fresh drinking water. The children of RC Primary School now have a permanent source of water.
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