BEN LIRINGA
Love changes the world. It breaks chains nothing else can. It fights to free people from bondages that steal life. Ben Liringa is fighting with this love for the lives of his Pygmy neighbors.
Growing up in DRC, Ben suffered from endless waterborne diseases, costing him and his family time, money, education and the lives of loved ones. Waterborne diseases stole opportunity from Ben as a child, but now he’s embracing his opportunity at the frontlines of the fight to end the water crisis once and for all.
Access to water wasn’t foreign to Ben as a child, but safe water was scarce. This scarcity not only made a physical impact on Ben, but planted a seed of determination that has grown across DRC into the lives of the Pygmy people.
In 2011, Ben was introduced to the Pygmy people through a university internship working in the Ituri Rainforest to earn his development studies degree. Soon after, he met Water4 through a Pygmy community in the Ituri Rainforest.
Ben and Water4 connected in 2014 through this unifying mission. A drill team was formed and training soon began with help from Matt Hangen, Young Men Drillers in Uganda and Water Works Ktanga from southern DRC. Soon after, Access En Eau Et Development (Water Access and Development) or AEDR formed as a safe water enterprise, focused on working with Pygmy communities to seek physical freedom with land ownership and safe and living water.
"Ben is a great example of someone who God has brought from the humble place of a charcoal seller and turned him into a nation changer,” said Water4 Managing Director, Matt Hangen. “His heart, intellect and amazing gift in mobilizing people is being used to create leaders, empower the powerless and transform a huge region of DRC. "
Since Ben and Water4 teamed up, 11 Pygmy communities have been liberated from slavery through land purchases funded by Water4 supporters. As Pygmies acquire land, they also receive access to safe water and hygiene and sanitation training, WaSH. As the AEDR managing director and Discipleship Making Movements/WaSH coordinator, Ben leads the AEDR WaSH program, which has now trained over 170 WaSH trainers around DRC and impacted over 50,000 lives. These trainers are the tips of the spear for promoting safe water storage, effective hand washing, good sanitation and creating an ongoing culture that keeps safe water safe and saves lives. The AEDR vision is to extend operations throughout DRC.
The other part of Ben’s role is leading DMM and Discovery Bible Study (DBS) for AEDR and with communities they serve. “My favorite thing is to see drill teams and the entire program start at least changing their behavior toward prayer and Discovery Bible Study habit in their programs,” said Ben. “The change is real!!! This change is not only physical water but Living water that brings peace, harmony, social-economic growth and decreases the number of child deaths caused by water borne diseases, which now increases the number of kids attending school.
Since starting DMM with AEDR and communities, a church has been planted in the Ituri Rainforest and has over 68 people regularly attending.
Ben and AEDR are in the fight of their lives alongside the Pygmy people of central DRC -- fighting for freedom from slavery, freedom from waterborne illness, and freedom in Christ. With you their corner, Ben and AEDR have impacted the lives of thousands and possibly even changed the course of an entire nation for generations to come.