The Economic Fallout from the Water Crisis
When people are faced with water scarcity, generally it means they are also faced with food scarcity. In addition stark economic implications for those directly involved as well as for the global community. It is estimated $260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of basic water and sanitation. Additionally the World Bank estimates by 2050, “water scarcity in some regions could impact GDP growth by up to 11.5%”.
Agriculture is one of the biggest users of water, and when there is a shortage of water from both a growing demand as well as supply due to droughts and flooding; people cannot maintain their crops and food sources dry up. In Sub-Saharan Africa, several years of little to no rain during the rainy seasons, extended droughts and floods have made it extremely challenging for 90 percent of the rural population who depend on agriculture as their primary source of income. The region’s farming mainly relies on rainfall; and the significance of unpredictable rainfall, rising temperatures, extreme drought, and lower crop yields is a real threat to Africa’s poorest communities.
Along with people in Africa, many in the Svay Leu region in Cambodia also spend a good part of their day gathering water rather than having the time to work jobs and earn money. Women and girls typically do most of the water gathering, which can take several hours each day to walk to a distant source of water like a river or pond. Others spend multiple times a day waiting in line at a water station, sometimes for hours, for their chance to fill water vessels, which they must then carry back home. Lack of water and the time spent gathering it takes women and girls not only away from working but going to school, trapping them in a cycle of poverty.
Ladebe, a mother from Bensa, Ethiopia, cares for her three remaining children at home as well as prepares food, cleans the family compound, cares for their cows, collects firewood, works on the farm and gathers water. She describes the trip to collect water as one where she must travel to a pond located at a higher altitude making travel difficult especially on the way down carrying heavy containers of water. Ladebe explains, “The place where we collect water is muddy and slippery. I fell many times and have broken my leg before.”
However despite the time spent and the hazards of the trip, the water Ladebe gathers for her family comes from an unprotected spring. It is subject to debris and dirt along with bacteria from animals and runoff from waste. Due to the contamination in the water, the family is frequently sick.
Lifewater projects are much more than a well. We provide improved sanitation, hygiene and the love of Christ to families like Ladebe’s so parents can work and children can go to school. Local investment ensures safe water sources last for generations to come; and your generous donation makes it possible.to the growing humanitarian crisis, an inadequate water supply has
Our Projects are designed to Last for Generations
Lifewater’s mission is to provide solutions that work for a village today as well as work for generations that follow. After a 39-year history of bringing safe water to serve 2.5 million people around the world, Lifewater introduced a program called the Vision of a Healthy Village in 2016. The program reflects our commitment to real, lasting change.
This means each and every one of our projects are a lot more than just providing a safe water source to a community. In order for the water to remain uncontaminated, everyone using the water must adopt healthy habits for sanitation and hygiene known as WASH. Sustainable change must also include investing in lasting relationships person to person and house by house.
As the Lifewater team recognizes our water systems should be built to serve the needs of people now and in the future; we follow a comprehensive process to ensure it happens. It starts with careful planning including vetting out the best option for safe water as well as forming relationships with the people the water will serve. We know when a person contributes something of value; they feel more a part of the project, which is why we ask the community to contribute up to 15% in labor, materials or funds.
Our engineers are some of the best in the industry and are experienced in developing custom-designed plans that offer the most optimal solution for a village based on the hydrogeology (the study of groundwater) in the community, population size, and locally-available materials. This determines what type of water source a community receives.
Options include hand-dug wells in places with water available at less than 100 feet below ground. Once dug, the well is lined, capped and equipped with a hand pump. Drilled wells are used in places with water more than 100 feet underground and where roads are available to bring in the appropriate equipment needed. Other solutions include using a natural spring, harvesting rainwater or rehabilitating an existing source.
By relying on real time data tracking, local technology and community-led support, a Lifewater project provides a lasting transformation. All of our projects include 5 years of water monitoring for signs of contamination. Reliable relationships with local suppliers also allow communities to quickly make repairs to their system and get it back up and running.
Lifewater hires and trains local health monitors to teach families the health habits of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene practices). To oversee the water source, we help the village form a Water Committee responsible for monitoring proper use of local water points and collecting fees used toward maintenance and repairs.
Give with confidence to Lifewater International and help us fund more live-saving projects. When people are provided with safe water, sanitation and hygiene, they can lead healthier, more productive lives. Please visit our website and donate today.
“World Water Day” Puts a Spotlight on the Global Water Crisis
The “World Water Day” in March highlights the critical water crisis affecting 771 million people globally who live without basic access to safe water, and the many more who lack access to toilets. At Lifewater International, a Christian water charity, we have been working for 45 years to provide the world’s most marginalized communities solutions.
In 2016 Lifewater reimagined our process for serving with the introduction of “Vision of a Healthy Village,” which focuses on sustainable solutions to empower people from within the community to create thriving villages and enact lasting change. Along with our safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) work; we partner with local ministries to start bible studies, plant churches and distribute bibles.
Unafraid of a challenge, we seek out countries and regions that are underserved and unreached by other organizations; and currently our focus is Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia). In Ethiopia alone, half of the population (58 million) lacks access to safe water that sickens children with diseases entirely preventable. Diarrheal disease, a leading cause of death for children under five years old, is nearly eliminated by drinking safe water and practicing proper sanitation and hygiene. From 2016 to August 2022; we have brought renewed hope and safe water to more than 395 villages and 198,000 people in remote areas like Bensa, Nensebo, Kokosa, and Dodola with the support of generous donors like you.
In Uganda, 40 percent of the population must make more than a 30-minute roundtrip to get safe drinking water, and over 75 percent of the country doesn’t have the resources to properly wash their hands, which makes it challenging to control the spread of disease. The health of Cambodia’s children is also at risk as 28 percent of people lack access to safe water, and 1 in 5 do not have access to a toilet or the means to wash their hands with soap and water.
In 2020, Lifewater International expanded its program to Tanzania where statistics are just as dire with 23 million people lacking access to safe water or basic sanitation. Data from 2016 reports “over 18,500 children younger than five years old die annually due to diarrhea resulting from contaminated water and hygiene practices.” Our current projects are located in the Shinyanga District.
Since the start of Vision of a Healthy Village, donations to Lifewater has allowed us to provide 340,000 people with clean water and improved health, transforming villages and schools for good. However there is more work to be done as many of our projects still need funding.
Access to safe water keeps children healthy and keeps them in school. It also gives women the time to pursue educational and economic opportunities. Our website has a list of unfunded water projects in need of help as well as inspiring stories of success. We are confident Lifewater’s work will have life-sustaining impact, and with your help, we will provide brighter futures.