Jesus Wells: A Clean Water Project
The need for clean water, especially in areas like South Asia and Africa, is great. Worldwide, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water, leading to a host of waterborne diseases that bring sickness and even death.1 There are multiple clean water projects trying to meet this critical need.
One such clean water project is GFA World’s Jesus Wells
As GFA workers serve in various impoverished communities, they seek to meet the unique practical needs of the people in those communities, bringing transformation and empowerment to communities in need. One common problem they encounter is the need for clean water.
Even if there is a local water source, it may contain fecal matter, arsenic or other pollutants.2 Drinking this water affects overall health and often makes people sick. It may cause diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid or polio.3 Yet people continue to drink it, because it is their only option.
Sometimes, a local water source doesn’t even exist and a family’s water gatherer, typically a mother or daughter, spends valuable time walking more than 30 minutes once or twice daily to collect water and haul it back to their home.4 This chore exerts time and energy that could be better spent on education or income-generation, but the family requires water for survival.
With care and compassion, GFA World responds to this need by installing Jesus Wells. These wells offer fresh, clean water freely to everyone in the community, regardless of race, class or religion.
Here are a few quick facts about Jesus Wells:
- Jesus Wells provide safe, disease-free water.
- Jesus Wells are dug up to 600 feet deep, so they can provide water in the driest season.
- GFA World uses local labor and materials to drill Jesus Wells, keeping costs low and boosting the local economy.
- Each well is maintained by a local church, so it will keep running properly for many years.
- One Jesus Well can provide clean water for approximately 300 people for up to 20 years.5
The pure, lifegiving water from Jesus Wells helps entire communities gain freedom from water-borne diseases, improving their health and removing the need to walk long distances to collect water. In addition, a plaque near each Jesus Well points to the Living Water that can fully satisfy them from within.
1 “Water Supply & Sanitation.” World Water Council. https://www.worldwatercouncil.org/en/water-supply-sanitation. Accessed August 11, 2021.
2 Luby, Stephen. “Water Quality in South Asia.” Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2740663/ . June 2008.
3 “Drinking-water.” World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water. June 14, 2019.
4 “The United Nations World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind.” United Nations. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000367306/PDF/367306eng.pdf.multi. 2019.
5 “Clean Water.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/water/. Accessed August 13, 2021.