Besides Drilling Wells, Do Water Organizations Offer Other Solutions to The Water Crisis?
Many water organizations only offer well drilling. In areas without a clean water well, GFA also offers needy families a BioSand water filter to clean their water from impurities. The filter is a concrete box with a diffuser plate and filled with layers of fine sand, coarse sand and gravel to remove impurities. In fact, these filters provide clean water for drinking and cooking that is 98 percent pure. These filters last for 20 years if properly cared for.
Nirmala’s story is a great example of how a BioSand water filter changed a family and their quality of life. Nirmala and her community would gather water from a pond. The water was contaminated and caused pain and sickness—headaches, internal pain and skin problems. A pastor came to this village and saw the discouragement this issue was causing Nirmala and her neighbors. He promised to bring a BioSand water filter.
“I was so excited to hear this,” said Nirmala. “Finally our sicknesses would come to an end and we would have a chance to keep our bodies healthy. A team soon came and installed the filter in my home. My family and I were so happy to receive such an amazing gift.”
These filters make a great option for areas where water wells are not possible or in areas where certain classes of people aren’t able to access the community’s water well. For example, in some countries, people from different backgrounds are often barred from community water sources by unfriendly neighbors.
By the fall of 2020, GFA, through its partnerships worldwide, has been a part of seeing more than 58,000 filters to needy families.