Deacon Engineer Brings Water to Those Who Thirst
He thought he would be ‘hugging trees,’ but this Denver deacon’s Catholic Engineering Corps brings clean — and living — water to villages in Cameroon.
After graduating with a degree in environmental engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Deacon Joshua Knight of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Denver thought he would be “hugging trees” for the rest of his life, but plans changed. Now he brings access to clean water — both literal and living — to villages in Cameroon, Africa.
A missionary providing water systems for about 20 years, Deacon Knight founded the Catholic Engineering Corps (CEC) last year to continue and build upon his life’s passion in the fundraising, implementation, assessment and monitoring of water projects.
In just the past 10 years that he has been keeping track, Deacon Knight and his partners have brought potable water to about 40,000 people in 12 villages — with a line of others continually added to the queue, he said.
The reason for the demand is obvious and heartbreaking. Villagers could be carrying water on their heads up to two kilometers (about a mile and a half) to and from the source.
“There’s never enough water, because you can’t carry enough water, and it isn’t even good water,” he explained.
People in these communities, especially the elderly and babies, get ill and sometimes die from drinking the dirty, silty water, he said, “but that’s all they’ve got.”
He has been doing his best to change that for two decades and counting.
Villages Kept Coming
Deacon Knight said he never meant to switch to civil engineering. But after marrying his wife, Rachel, whom he met working at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the couple felt called to be missionaries. They landed in Cameroon for a three-year stint in 2004, where Deacon Knight was assigned to water supply projects — 30 to begin with, and many more to come.
As he started his job, “another villager came into our office and said, ‘We’re not on your list of 30 projects, but we will need water,’” he recalled. Deacon Knight promised to come up with the money if the whole village of Kikoo completed project management training. Community members held up their end of the deal, and Deacon Knight partnered with Engineers Without Borders to get the funds.
“But more villages and villages and villages just kept coming to our office. They heard the word,” he said.
By the end of the three years, Deacon Knight and his partners had completed about 30 more projects, building water towers, drilling wells, installing filtration systems and ultimately putting in public taps that bring the clean water to the communities.
He said his heart was set “on fire” for his faith as he did this work.
“Every day as a missionary, I could use both my skills — my love for Jesus and my love for engineering — to be able to … bring Jesus every day,” he told the Denver Catholic.
Although Deacon Knight wanted to re-up, he and Rachel decided that it was best for their family if he continued his work in two-week trips. (He now has four children, ages 14 to 22).
Deacon Knight now visits Cameroon annually, still working with volunteers, engineers in various fields, community members, local experts and students, governments, water committees and village chiefs to bring clean water to those who need it.
And the villages, which range in population from 50 to 5,000, must do their part. Co-responsibility for the projects is not optional. The communities must apply and sign a memorandum of understanding formalizing their pledge to fix what is broken, maintain the systems and extend them as needed. To prove their capacity to do so, they are required to raise 15% of the capital construction costs, in cash.
“They can’t pay for 100%, but [we determine] how much they can pay to ensure that they’re going to take this on as their own project,” Deacon Knight explained.
He said the CEC makes a five-year commitment to the villages to continue helping them with their systems, providing assistance as much as possible, while emphasizing the community’s responsibility.
“We do our very best to teach them about the importance of sustainability on these projects. What we really need is that when we come back in five years, 20 years, 50 years, the water will still be flowing from that well,” Deacon Knight said. “And so far, in all of our projects, the water has still been flowing.”
Overflowing with Gratitude
When clean water is turned on, the impact is dramatic, the deacon said.
“The immediate response is great thanksgiving,” he said. “It’s such a joy to be with people when they receive water for the first time.”
He recalled the beautiful smile that spread across a woman’s face when she first drew water from a new well. She had been walking 1.5 kilometers to the river.
“We knew the river that they were using — the same river where they washed their cars and washed their clothes — and animals drink there,” Deacon Knight remembered. “She thanked us for having been a part of bringing water to her and her family, her children and grandchildren. It was something I’ll never forget.”
Beyond joy and gratitude, quality water improves quality of life. Clinics report a drastic drop in waterborne illnesses, Deacon Knight said, and people can spend more time and money on themselves, rather than carrying water and paying hospital bills. He added that they are installing hygienic latrines at some schools.
“They’ve got more capability to do other things, to do schoolwork, to actually go to school,” he said.
Giving Living Water
Amid his ongoing work in Cameroon, Deacon Knight “felt the call to serve the Church more deeply” and began formation for the diaconate. He has served as a deacon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Denver for all three years of his diaconate. He also provides spiritual support for disaster victims for the Archdiocese of Denver and other organizations.
“I had no idea how I would fit this extra ministry into my life, but thankfully, God is so good. I have added pastoral ministry as part of my mission,” he said.
Deacon Knight said people ask him why he works on these projects without pay. His answer is both literal and symbolic: “Jesus wants me to assist you with this basic necessity so that you can be thinking about something that matters forever: the living water.
“We obviously want to be able to bring clean, sustainable water to people, but we also want to bring them living water, and many times they bring it to us,” he said.
