How Nonprofit Water Organizations Help People in Need
Worldwide, approximately 736 million people live below the poverty line, earning $1.90 a day or less.1 These impoverished people in developing countries are often the same ones without access to clean water. The contaminated water they are forced to drink often makes them sick, keeping adults from earning a wage and children from gaining a proper education, contributing to the cycle of poverty. Intent on simply feeding their families, these individuals typically can’t afford better options, but nonprofit water organizations are helping provide this essential resource.
For example, GFA World installs Jesus Wells in communities in need of clean water in places such as Asia.
These wells are dug up to 600 feet deep to ensure water is available year-round, even in times of drought. Locally maintained, one Jesus Well can provide water for approximately 300 people for up to 20 years. Though offered in the name of and with the love of Christ, this water is freely given to all within the community, regardless of social status, gender or religion.
In areas where water is readily available but unsafe to drink, GFA World distributes BioSand water filters.
Simply constructed, these concrete water filters efficiently remove 98 percent of biological impurities. These tools are also given freely to those in need.
Such clean water initiatives help improve individuals’ overall health and protect them from various diseases—including cholera, typhoid, diarrhea and polio—that can be caused from drinking unsafe water.
When people are physically well, they are better able to work and provide for their families or, if children, study and prepare for a better future.
Access to clean water also saves valuable time.
In some developing regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, many individuals are forced to walk 30 minutes or more to collect water. This daily chore commonly falls to women and girls and drains them of precious time and energy. A nearby water source, such as a Jesus Well, alleviates this burden and enables these women to spend more time in income-generation or child-rearing and enables girls to spend more time in their studies. Both alternatives offer hope for a better tomorrow.
Thus, clean water, and easy access to it, can not only prevent sickness and potential death from waterborne diseases but can even help break the cycle of poverty. In this way, clean water empowers people to attain better lives for them and future generations.
1 “Poverty.” The World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview. Accessed August 5, 2021.
2 “Water Inequality.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/water-inequality/. Accessed August 12, 2021.