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In
many rural areas women and children walk miles a day over rough terrain
to draw water from the nearest source, which is far too often contaminated.
In many parts of the world access to fresh water is scarce. Rivers,
streams and lakes are used for everything: taking baths, cleaning animals,
washing clothes, and drinking. In other developing nations shallow water
supplies are polluted by poorly regulated agricultural or industrial practices.
Living
at high altitudes creates its own problem. The water table is often
times impossible to get to, requiring those living in the rural
communities to gather rainwater and snow whenever available. The knowledge,
work and resources required to properly store enough of this life sustaining
substance is often times unavailable if not impossible.
People are
suffering. They suffer from not having enough water or the lack of
safe water. They suffer from typhus, cholera, dysentery, dracunculiasis,
malaria, and a host of other maladies carried in the very water they
need to sustain life. The lack of this vital resource and subsequent disease
are actually minor worries compared to death, which is often the result
of poisoned water. It is estimated that today a child will die every
eight seconds of water-related diseases (World Health Organization).
These
problems don’t have to continue! Providing both accessible
and clean fresh drinking water to millions is now possible. Operation
Blessing has helped and will continue to help tens of thousands of
people living in places including Cambodia, China, Guatemala, India,
Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Romania and Uganda. And you can join
in!
With the help of faithful partners,
Operation Blessing is breaking the cycle of water-borne suffering with new
wells and helping provide adequate water supplies with cisterns. By drilling
wells to uncontaminated water sources and building cisterns for collection
and hydration men, women and children around the world have easy access to
life-giving water.
Building & Drilling
When providing clean water for a community, close proximity is critical.
Using modern equipment, skilled technicians and durable water pumps
allows Operation Blessing to select appropriate locations and dig wells
in the most efficient way possible. In Africa, teams drill in the dry
season to find deeper water sources, ensuring water will be available
year-round.
However, it is almost impossible for some communities living at high
altitudes to have wells. Cisterns are the alternative. In cases like
China’s Gansu Province, these tanks collect and store enough
rainwater to last a family an entire year.
Protecting & Caring
Once the well or cistern is in place, we teach communities how to
properly maintain the water system and protect it from contamination.
We are also educating families on how to properly transport and store
water in their homes as well as the importance of personal and domestic
cleanliness. Offering knowledge as basic as using different water bowls
for cleaning vegetables, washing dishes and feeding livestock can be
lifesaving. According to the World Health Organization, improved water
and sanitation can reduce morbidity and mortality rates of some of
the most serious related diseases by 20 percent to 80 percent!
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Highlights |
More than 7,300 wells and/or cisterns have been built in countries including
China, Guatemala, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines,
and Romania, providing clean water to over 1.9 million people.
Working with trained drilling teams, like CBN Living Water, Operation Blessing provides wells in rural villages around India.
Partnering with organizations in Romania, we have provided wells throughout the country, giving clean drinking water to orphanages and entire villages struggling with poverty and the consequences of contaminated water supplies.
Assisting mission groups we helped drill five wells in Uganda that now serve over 30,000 people with clean water.
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