Why It’s Important to Donate Clean Water
While most people in developed countries have ample access to clean water, 1.1 billion people worldwide lack such access.1 This problem is particularly acute in developing countries, where many people rely on surface water that’s contaminated and leads to waterborne diseases. Often living below the poverty line, these people struggle to feed their families and typically can’t afford to purchase better options even if they’re available. Someone must donate clean water if these precious people are ever to live healthy lives, free of waterborne disease.
The lack of clean water impacts life in various ways. Perhaps the most crucial aspect is the matter of health.
Ohio University estimates, “Roughly, 80 percent of illnesses in developing countries are attributed to unclean water and poor sanitation.”2 Children are particularly susceptible, and it’s estimated that these factors lead to 1.6 million children’s deaths every year.3 Conversely, clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene could prevent 9 percent of global disease and 6 percent of global deaths.4
Water also impacts productivity.
In areas like sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, people may walk more than 30 minutes to collect water, which is often contaminated.5 This tedious chore typically falls to women and girls; it drains precious time and energy that could be better spent in income-generating opportunities for women or school activities for girls. Sickness caused by unsafe water also affects the productivity of those forced to depend upon it, which commonly results in loss of income for families already struggling in poverty.
To donate clean water to those in critical need of this lifegiving necessity is a noble desire and cause
Why is clean water important? Clean water helps people in need maintain good health, free of preventable waterborne diseases, which helps them provide for their families. It saves time wasted on collecting water that is distant and often contaminated. It helps them improve their lives and give their children a better future.
How can you help?
There are various organizations through which you can donate clean water. For example, GFA World has been providing impoverished people with clean water for more than 20 years through Jesus Wells and BioSand water filters. More than 38 million people have been helped through these efforts from donor’s gifts to provide water well donations.
GFA World works hard to keep costs low, using local materials and labor for their clean water initiatives. For $1,400, a Jesus Well can provide clean water for an entire village for up to 20 years. A BioSand water filter, at just $30, provides a whole family or even a small community with water that is 98 percent pure. But the impact on individuals’ lives is priceless.
Jesus Wells
Ragnar’s family of six fought constant sickness as they struggled to obtain clean water. As a result, his children struggled in their studies. Their only water source was more than a half a mile away and contaminated. A doctor’s prescription for Ragnar’s jaundiced son—filtered water— only brought distress. Ragnar could not afford such a luxury.
Then a Jesus Well was installed in Ragnar’s village. Now the entire community has free access to clean drinking water—within easy walking distance—and their health has greatly improved.6
Vimal’s village faced a water crisis in which they suffered drought four months of every year. An agrarian village dependent on water for their livelihood, there wasn’t enough water to go around. A Jesus Well became an answer to Vimal’s prayers. Now his village has access to clean water year-round, even in the drought season.7
BoiSand Water Filters
BioSand water filters also greatly impact lives. Keeva, for example, suffered from persistent, severe stomachaches. She knew the cause of it and many other health issues in her village was the unsafe drinking water they consumed, but she didn’t have any other option, so she continued drinking the dirty water.
Then Keeva received a BioSand water filter from GFA pastor Kunja, and her life drastically changed. With the pure water from the filter, Keeva’s stomachaches disappeared, and her health improved dramatically.8
These are just a few examples of the lives that have been changed with the gift of clean water through GFA World’s clean water initiatives.
Brookings Institution estimates that securing things like universal safe drinking water for sub-Saharan Africa alone would cost $35 billion a year in capital costs.9 That figure may seem insurmountable, but if many people contribute even a little, significant change can be enacted through water well donations to Africa.
There’s a story told of a boy walking along the beach tossing starfish back into the ocean. An older man chides him for his seemingly futile efforts, pointing to the countless stranded starfish and telling him he couldn’t possibly make a difference. The boy picks up another starfish and, as he returns it to its lifegiving habitat, replies, “It made a difference to that one.”
GFA World is making a difference in the quest for clean water, one family or community at a time. Lives are being transformed as a result.
1 “Water Supply & Sanitation.” World Water Council. https://www.worldwatercouncil.org/en/water-supply-sanitation. Accessed August 11, 2021.
2 “10 Ways Access to Clean Water Can Improve the World.” Ohio University. https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/access-to-clean-water/. March 2, 2021.
3 “Water Supply & Sanitation.” World Water Council. https://www.worldwatercouncil.org/en/water-supply-sanitation. Accessed August 30, 2021.
4 “Global WASH Fast Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/wash_statistics.html. Accessed August 30, 2021.
5 “Water Inequality.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/water-inequality/. Accessed August 12, 2021.
6 “A Family’s Fight Against Contaminated Water.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/a-familys-fight-against-contaminated-water-wfr21-03/. February 2021.
7 “Jesus Well Relieves Water Crisis.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/gfa-world-jesus-well-relieves-water-crisis/. March 2019.
8 “Filtering Out Sickness.” GFA World. https://gospelforasia-reports.org/2020/03/filtering-out-sickness/. March 9, 2020.
9 Holtz, Leo and Christina Golubski. “Addressing Africa’s extreme water insecurity.” Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/07/23/addressing-africas-extreme-water-insecurity/. July 23, 2021.