How Can I Donate Clean Water to Communities in Need?
There are worldwide efforts to donate clean water because clean water is a life-saving resource. You can partner with various organizations to provide clean water to impoverished communities through advocacy, prayer and finances.
Why is clean water important?
Water is essential to human bodily functions and everyday tasks, such as bathing, cooking and drinking. If water is not easily accessible, is only available in limited portions or is highly contaminated, entire communities can be affected.
Contaminated water can harbor illnesses such as cholera, dysentery and rotavirus.1 All three of these invisible infections can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting, which can lead to dehydration and even death. According to the World Health Organization, a staggering “829,000 people die each year from diarrhea because of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation, and hand hygiene.”1
Water can also contain harmful chemicals such as pesticides, lead, human waste and much more. Contaminated water is a global health crisis. According to the WHO, 663 million people worldwide do not have safe and accessible drinking water.1 Every person without access to safe drinking water is at risk for infection, illness and even death.
While many communities lack safe, accessible drinking water, unsafe drinking water is a critical problem in Africa. The United Nations estimates that over half of the people who do not have safe drinking water live in Africa.2 In response to the steep consequences of unsafe water, GFA World hopes to soon offer opportunities for water well donation in Africa.
Clean water is a life-saving resource for people in need. Your choice to donate clean water improves the health, mortality rates and well-being of entire communities.
How does clean water impact families?
One example of how clean water can impact a family is the story of Aanjay and his family, who live in a remote, impoverished village in South Asia. Aanjay and other villagers used water from an open well for cooking, bathing, agriculture and more. Aanjay recalls,
“I barely remember a single week or month passing by for us without visiting a doctor and spending our minimal income for medicine. I and my family were badly and often exposed to waterborne and water-caused disease, because we were forced to use dirty and filthy water for cooking and drinking, which was contaminated from an open well.”3
Aanjay’s family regularly experienced stomach pain, typhoid and severe diarrhea because of the contaminated water. Many families like Aanjay’s have no other options; they must use limited and polluted water sources because they are the only sources available.
But Aanjay’s situation changed when GFA missionaries in the region gave Aanjay and other families BioSand water filters. These water filters remove 98 percent of toxins, and they allowed Aanjay and other community members to filter their water before cooking, cleaning or drinking.
Local pastors also provided comprehensive hygiene training for the local community, during which they discussed germs, soap and proper handwashing techniques. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, proper handwashing decreases diarrhea-related illnesses by 23-40 percent.4 These informational sessions, which empower people with the knowledge to protect their health, can be life-saving resources.
Clean water provides lasting hope and assistance to people like Aanjay. Aanjay said,
“Not only were the physical water needs of believers and villagers met, but our inner thirst for the love of the Lord and for one another, too, are being met very strongly. While these filters and training are making an incredible difference in the physical well-being of the recipients, many are also gaining the peace and freedom found in following Jesus Christ.”3
How can I donate clean water?
Many communities worldwide depend on rainfall, surface water from ponds, lakes and reservoirs or water from an old, contaminated well. This untreated and unsanitized water poses serious health risks. You can help provide clean water through GFA World’s clean water initiatives:
- BioSand Water Filters — For only $30, GFA World can manufacture and distribute one of these effective BioSand water filters to a water-compromised family in Asia or Africa and provide them with clean, safe water for years to come.
- Jesus Wells — Water well donation can be a life-saving resource for an entire community, helping protect many families from dehydration, lack of sanitation and even severe disease. Jesus Wells can last up to 20 years and provide water for approximately 300 people a day. Over the years, GFA World has drilled more than 30,000 Jesus Wells.
Prayer is also a powerful way to help provide clean water to communities in need. Pray for supplies to drill wells and distribute water filters to impoverished communities. Pray for people impacted by infection, disease and death from contaminated water. Your prayers help efforts throughout Asia and Africa to provide clean water to desperate communities.
You can donate clean water to desperate communities in Asia and Africa by supporting GFA World in bringing thousands of Jesus Wells and BioSand water filters that supply life-giving water. Your gift will bring hope and provide a lasting solution for individuals, families and communities in need.
Share the love of Christ through clean water today!
Learn more about water solutions
1 “Water Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH).” World Health Organization. Accessed 12 February 2022. https://www.who.int/health-topics/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-wash.
2 “UN World Water Development Report 2019: ‘Leaving no one behind.’” United Nations. 19 March 2019. https://www.unwater.org/world-water-development-report-2019-leaving-no-one-behind/#:~:text=On%20a%20global%20scale%2C%20half,not%20shared%20with%20other%20households.
3 “Water Filters Are Making an Incredible Difference.” GFA World. March 2016. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/water-filters-are-making-an-incredible-difference/.
4 “Show Me the Science – Why Wash Your Hands?” Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 13 February 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html.