Water of Mercy - Missionary Co-Op 2026
- Jul 7
- 3 min read
Water of Mercy is a Chicago-area Catholic nonprofit and 2026 Mission Partner of St. John Cantius. Its mission is to provide rural Malawians with access to safe, clean drinking water through the construction of sustainable freshwater wells.
Water of Mercy works directly with Father Petros Mwale, a Catholic priest in the central region of Malawi, Africa. Fr. Petros is responsible for 50 prayer centers (churches without a full-time priest) across hundreds of villages, serving more than 40,000 parishioners. Each village typically has 400 to 1,500 residents, nearly all of them subsistence farmers. Average annual income is just $622. Most of these villages have no electricity, no paved roads, and no access to fresh water.
Without a well, families must collect water from shallow, muddy pits in the ground or marshy wetlands where brown, sediment-filled water pools among grass and mud. These water sources are shared with livestock and wild animals. The burden of gathering water falls on mothers and young girls, who walk miles each day through the wilderness, carrying their infants and small children, to collect whatever contaminated water they can carry back to the village for drinking, cooking, and daily use. They do this every day, 365 days a year. Children miss school. Families lose hours each day that could be spent farming or earning income. And the water they carry home can kill them. Cholera, typhoid, and dysentery are common in these communities and claim lives every year.
When a freshwater well is built in one of these villages, it changes everything. The deadly cycle of waterborne disease stops. Mothers can focus on their families. Children can attend school. The village moves from survival to growth.
The solution is straightforward. Malawi sits over abundant fresh groundwater, and each complete well project costs $5,000, serves an entire village, and lasts 75 years.
In January 2025, Chicago-area parishioners John and Lori Cerwin funded their first well in the village of Yotamu after Father Petros told them his people’s greatest need was freshwater. In just 14 days the well was drilled, a concrete pad and pump installed, and the village celebrated with an outdoor Mass and blessing at the new site. That first project became the foundation for Water of Mercy, the nonprofit that John and Lori founded.
Since launching in Sept. 2025, and with the help of 160+ donors worldwide, Water of Mercy has funded and built 19 freshwater wells across rural Malawi, serving over 12 thousand people with clean water for life. Wells are typically drilled and completed in 3-5 days.
On every completed pump, a small sticker is placed bearing the words from the Divine Mercy image: “Jesus, I Trust In You,” as a reminder to the villagers the Lord sees them and that they are important and loved.
How St. John Cantius Can Help?
Donations collected at St. John Cantius will be directed to a single village well project in rural Malawi. When the village is fully funded, photos of the village and newly constructed well will be shared in the St. John Cantius bulletin so the parish can see exactly what their generosity built and the people whose lives it changed.
If just 200 families from this parish donated $25, St. John Cantius alone could fund a freshwater well for an entire village for 75 years. A child born in that village the day the well is completed will drink from it her entire life, and so will her children and grandchildren after her.
To learn more, visit waterofmercy.com.
The Second Collection on Sunday, July 12th 2026 will be taken for building a well with Water of Mercy.
You can also make a one-time donation on our website using the button below. Be sure to type in the dedication "Water of Mercy - Second Collection" to ensure that the funds will be directed to Water of Mercy.
