Last World Water Day, 748 million people were still living without clean water. Today, exactly one year later, we celebrate knowing that number has decreased by 85 million.
Read that number again: 85 million people . . . People who finally have access to safe drinking water—some for the first time in their lives.
Can you imagine what these families have experienced since receiving clean water? The health of their communities has improved, children have returned to school, crop production and local economy is flourishing. All because you decided to make a difference.
Meet Irene . . .
As the oldest girl in her family, 17-year-old Irene has been responsible for collecting water for her family since she was a little girl—a task that could take up to eight hours a day. Not only has she carried the physical weight of this responsibility . . . she has been burdened with the emotional weight of it as well. The polluted water sources in her small Kenyan village have spread diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid throughout the community.
What’s more, Irene had no choice but to leave school in order to find time for her daily chores. The cycle of dirty water seemed to be suffocating her. But one day . . . everything changed.
World Help supporters provided a clean-water well in the heart of Irene’s village where 1,200 people now come to collect an endless supply of pure drinking water. What used to take eight hours for her now required only a few minutes of her day, which has allowed Irene to return to school. With clean water, her future is brighter than ever.
This is what World Water Day is about—raising awareness for the 663 million still waiting for clean water, while celebrating the real victories of lives impacted, even saved.
And this year for World Water Day, you can provide water to another . . . one life, one family, one community at a time.
Make your best contribution, advocate across your online platforms, or start a team campaign that will provide 30 people with clean water.
Don’t take this gift for granted today. Instead, let your gratitude overflow into the lives of those waiting for the hope clean water can provide.
