Written By: Christie A.
Recently, one of our Local Care Network partners was in town, and we got to talk about the impact of some water projects we did with them last year. He shared about communities absolutely transformed by the gift of water and children being profoundly impacted. He shared about women gathering around the well with overwhelming thankfulness and excitement and the joy of the whole community as they now had ready access to water. He brought many messages of thanks and joy. But he also shared about a hard moment with some people who live a few miles away from one of our 2023 water projects. They came to him asking, “Why did you not pick us? Can we have water, too?”
Together, we are making a difference one community at a time, but the reality is that every day, more communities are coming to us asking, “Can we have water, too?”
The desperate need for Water is hard for many of us to relate to. Most of us have been mildly inconvenienced with boil orders during natural disasters, or the water turned off last minute (for a few hours) when utilities go awry, but the truth is, we take access to clean water for granted. When you step back and reflect, clean water is clearly a necessity, a building block for life and health. And today, in 2024, 2.2 billion people live without access to safe water.
Safe water means health and hydration. For so many little girls growing up in these communities, the hours spent to gather enough water for their family can be freed up so they can go to school and learn instead! Clean water means safety from traffickers (who prey on the vulnerable as they trek the same route to get water each day), good hygiene, and a pathway to a long and full life. All of that is provided through the gift of water. It only takes $8 to give someone water, and that gift of water, through a well, keeps giving year after year!
Some things are complicated, but this one isn’t. Today is World Water Day, and what better way to celebrate than by providing water for 1, 2, or even 3 people today? Your gift of water will be combined with others and become a very effective tool for community transformation. Will you celebrate World Water Day with us?
