One Pageant Queen is Changing Lives with Bucket by Bucket by Rebecca Burylo How much does it take to change someone’s life? One bucket of clean water might be all it takes. Faulkner alumna Cindy Dixon has seen first-hand how a simple bucket of fresh water can change the lives of people living in the villages of Tanzania, East Africa. As the crowned Ms. Senior Alabama World and Ms. Sr. World 60s 1st Alternate, she’s using her pageant platform to spread the message of the faith-based nonprofit, Bucket by Bucket. Dixon has witnessed Bucket by Bucket build nine wells and one water collection system in Tanzania and has personally seen how just one well changed the lives of those who live nearby both physically and spiritually. “We prayed for the mission work in Tanzania and we discovered the biggest thing they need is clean water,” Dixon said. “Mosquito River is where we work with the congregation to host Bible classes and set up a school of preaching. Because we built the first well there, their mission has been so successful! We have those who attend the Bible classes convert to Christianity and are baptized. They came for life-giving water and they got the Living Water.” Bucket by Bucket began when members from Northport Church of Christ in Northport, Alabama were preparing for a mission trip to Tanzania. They were given a sizable donation, and were told to use the check for something good. They prayed for guidance. Then they made phone calls overseas to see what they could do to have a larger impact in the country and the congregation. The need for access to clean, safe drinking water was made apparent. So they arranged to install a water well on the grounds of the local church they were going to visit. In the months that followed they began to see nonChristians in the village coming to the church for their daily water. Soon, some of those very people became involved in Bible studies and were baptized into Christ. That’s when it was decided to put wells in more places and now Bucket by Bucket has grown into a 501c3 with ten established wells across the country. Each electric-powered well costs an average of $12,000 to build and maintain including materials and paying
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Faulkner Magazine
Terri Lane Photography
