The Need

 

 

• 780 million of the world’s population have inadequate access to clean water. That's 1 in 9 people.

 

• Every 21 seconds, a child under the age of five dies from a waterborne disease.

 

• Nearly half of the developing world (2.6 billion) suffer from illness due to a lack of sanitation and clean water.

 

• Access to water and sanitation is a huge economic burden. The estimated yearly economic loss due to the lack of access to safe water and sanitation in Africa is $28.4 billion.

 

• Women and children bear this burden more than any other because they are generally the ones expected to travel to the closest water source to collect water for their families. The journey for clean water can be too far or the accessible water full of disease causing bacteria.

 

Statistics courtesy of the United Nations Water for Life Factsheet on Water and Sanitation; the World Health Organization and UNICEF Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water 2010 and 2012 Update. 

 

Our Response

 

 

Since 2004, World Hope International has worked to drill clean water wells and provide necessary sanitation in some the world’s most impoverished communities. Hundreds of thousands in Mozambique and Sierra Leone are living healthier, more productive lives because of clean water. WHI responds to the water crisis in 3 ways:

 

Drilling wells: Clean water wells not only improve one’s quality of life, they prolong it. WHI operates well-drilling rigs in Sierra Leone and Mozambique, run by crews made up of local engineers. The teams drill wells in communities without a clean water source, and train local leaders to maintain the wells and keep clean water flowing long after drilling is done. One well brings clean water to approximately 700 people. 

 

Building latrines: Most people don’t realize how important a toilet is – yet clean toilets play a huge role in preventing the spread of bacteria and disease. In many of the same communities where wells are drilled, WHI builds latrines. Local materials are used to build the facilities, and community leaders are trained to maintain them.

 

Educating communities: Clean water changes lives, but to maximize its impact, it must be accompanied by sanitation and hygiene education. WHI teaches children and families how to keep themselves and their communities healthy and clean through hand-washing, regular bathing, oral hygiene, safe food preparation, trash pick-up and more. 

 

Access to fresh water helps to: sustain and prolong life, prevent the spread of disease, promotes an increased quality of life and increases time for economic productivity.

 

How You Can Help

 

 

It’s a hard truth to swallow: one in nine lack access to clean water. Yet the good news is this: the other eight of us can do something. WHI offers easy ways to support water and sanitation projects in communities thirsting for clean water. Start by educating your family and friends on the water crisis, then fundraise to create change. Click here to find out how you and your organization can get involved.

 

We're Proving It!

 

 

We want you to know what happens with your donation, so we track every dollar we receive. We’ll prove that your money is making a difference through frequent stewardship reporting, web-based updates and GPS tracking of any clean water well projects. Our goal is to connect you to the communities your dollars are serving, so you can see the lives you’re changing. Check back often to see how we're proving our impact!

 

In a March 2013 evaluation of the impact of the Water & Sanitation program in Mozambique, WHI-Moz Operations Manager, WHI-Moz Wells Field Manager, and WHI Director of Water and Sanitation met with Local Well Committees established in 66 villages, and surveyed WHI-drilled clean water wells.

 

We are thrilled to report that our wells in Mozambique of the 66 wells surveyed, 61 are still functioning and producing lab-tested high-quality potable water. The 61 villages each have community-led maintenance plans in place in order to maintain the wells. WHI's Water & Sanitation program in Mozambique has been active since January, 2005. Evaluation records according to year are as follows: 

 

Year Constructed	# Monitored	Functioning	% Functioning	Unrepairable
2005	2	2	100%	0
2006	19	17	89%	1
2007	6	4	67%	2
2008	6	5	83%	1
2009	12	12	100%	0
2010	12	12	100%	0
2011	5	5	100%	0
2012	4	4	100%	0
Overall	66	61	92%	4

 

Resources

World Hope International regularly accesses a variety of resources on clean water and sanitation to insure optimal effectiveness for each related program. Learn More.