Without clean water, a community cannot develop. But with it, people have a real chance to fulfill their potential. Clean water changes everything. In some parts of the world, children get diarrhea dozens of times in their first years of life. Their guts are teeming with viruses from dirty water. This onslaught of disease stunts their growth and interferes with their cognitive development. Clean water is fundamental for human life and a foundation for community improvement, including health, education, and economic development.
Water is more than H2O
Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions help close the cycle of disease in a community. Inability to access clean water makes even the simple act of washing your hands an impossible task.
The Facts
- Getting clean water to rural villages is ranked the #1 strategy in Cost Effective Compassion. Christianity Today (Feb 2012)
- According to Living Water International, nearly 90% of all diseases are caused by poor hygiene, inadequate sanitation, and unsafe drinking water.
- The UN Development Program says clean water is among the most powerful preventive ways to reduce child mortality.
- A World Health Organization study estimates that the availability of clean water in a rural village reduces infant mortality by 35% to 50%.
- Research in Uganda found households spending on average 660 hours a year collecting water. This represents two full months of labor, with attendant opportunity costs for education, income generation, and female leisure time.” – United Nations Development Program, 2006