Brittany Fogle of Water Missions International stopped by ABC News 4 this morning to be on Lowcountry Live. Watch this video spot to learn more about our Lessons in a Bucket initiative and upcoming Walk for Water event on March 23rd in Charleston, SC.
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Imagine life without your bathroom.
For one in three people, toilets are an unattainable luxury.
Approximately 2.6 billion people lack access to proper sanitation.
For this reason, today, November 19th, is World Toilet Day. Take a moment and imagine what life would be like without something so simple as sanitation and privacy. We don’t like to think about that reality. This lack of privacy is especially dangerous for women and girls, who often must wait until it’s dark outside to find relief as it’s considered indecent for them to do so when they could be seen. Aside from the basic right of human dignity, pause and consider the health consequences. Every twenty seconds diarrhea alone takes the life of a child. That’s 5,000 preventable deaths a day.
The international community gathered together in 2000 to form a set of objectives known as the Millennium Development Goals in hopes of improving human rights and the quality of life around the globe. Of all the goals set to be achieved by the year 2015, access to safe water and sanitation are the goals which most clearly will not be met. We ask that you take the time on World Toilet Day to consider how you might play a role in resolving this crisis. If you need ideas, check out how we’re working to combat the global sanitation crisis here: http://www.watermissions.org/
You can make sanitation and Hope happen.
Today, in honor of World Toilet Day, we ask you to slow down to consider how blessed we all are to have safe water and sanitation. Don’t take that bathroom of yours for granted.
(And don’t forget to wash your hands. Even that’s a privilege the whole world can’t enjoy.)
How will you recognize World Toilet Day?
Every year on October 15th, people across the world take the time to focus on one of the best disease prevention practices: proper handwashing techniques.
The simple act of properly washing one’s hands can prevent the spread of disease and infections, especially if done after using the bathroom, as one gram of human feces can potentially contain around 10 million viruses and 1 million bacteria. While we might not take the time to reflect on the impact of what, for many, is a deeply ingrained habit, the truth is that the practice of properly washing hands may save more lives than any vaccine.
Because of this simple act can prevent so much sickness, the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing created an awareness campaign that asked children and schools to turn every 15th of October into Global Handwashing Day. Participants are asked to teach proper handwashing methods and encourage children to adopt this habit. By teaching the newest generation the importance of hygiene and sanitation there can be a brighter future, where one generation passes on the habit to the next.
It smells like fresh paint and progress this morning at our new facility. A dream team of local volunteers and staff from Charleston Water System and Sealoflex, Inc., have descended upon our new site to paint the exterior of our building as part of Trident United Way’s Day of Caring.
If you saw this news clip, then you know how much TLC our new building needs. Did you catch the part where reporter, Sonya Stevens, peels off a huge piece of the old paint? (Don’t worry, we gave her permission- she was just helping us prepare the walls for today…)
WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 – Charleston News, Sports, Weather
Take a look at the volunteer-heroes who have stepped up to rehabilitate our new space for all of the future work that will happen within those walls and the places far, far away outside of them.
We’re grateful for the dream team that came to paint with us today. They are just as much a part of accomplishing this mission as those who work in the field, those who engineer solutions, those who serve in our offices, and those who give of their resources. Volunteers help make it happen! Together, we can conquer thirst. (Even with a paint roller.)
In a previous post, Transforming the Business of Water: The TradeWater Program, we laid the conceptual foundation for the TradeWater program, a new water service delivery model that we have developed to address some of the challenges that often arise in community-managed water supply projects. Through this program, we plan to establish sustainable water service businesses that exemplify the character of God in communities that lack access to safe water.
Our first TradeWater pilot project is currently three months underway in a small Ugandan fishing village called Kikondo. In this post, we’d like to introduce you to TradeWater Kikondo.
Every Spring and Fall, Water Missions International produces a newsletter for our supporters. In it, we share stories from the field, updates on projects, a focus on one of our country programs, volunteer highlights, and much, much more!
Our Spring 2012 Quench Newsletter will be hitting mailboxes next week, so we thought we’d share just a little bit from our opening story.
Hear their Story
Meet Mr. Muhammad Basuki, the head of a small rice farming village in Indonesia. This village, like many other communities in Indonesia and other developing countries around the world, relies on dirty water. Their public water source is a well, but the problem is that the water is oily, a yellowish color, and muddy. This is their only water source and they use it for cooking, drinking, cleaning and bathing. And even though they use it every day, they do not know if the water is safe; they have never tested it and simply do not know about safe drinking water standards. Before the people in this village use the well water to drink, they have to put the water through a sand filter and then boil it twice…
….Be on the lookout for our Spring 2012 Quench to read the rest of this story!
A few additional highlights:
Reading Recommendations
Country Program Focus: Malawi
TradeWater Update
…and more!
We’ll upload a digital Quench Newsletter here in addition to mailed copies.
Who do you think is shining in our volunteer highlight this Spring?
“In the morning, O Lord, Thou wilt hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch.” Psalm 5:3
Today is National Day of Prayer. It’s one day where the people of America are mobilized to pray for each other, our nation, and the world. What an incredibly powerful moment for God- an opportunity to open doors and transform lives.
We wanted to share with you a little insight into how we incorporate prayer into our everyday lives here at Water Missions International. As a Christian Engineering Ministry, prayer is a foundational component of who we are and how we function. Each morning, we begin our day in what we call a “huddle.” This is where we share our victories from the day before, our priorities for the day ahead, and, most importantly, where we devote time to prayer. And not only do we do this in our Charleston headquarters, but each of our nine country programs participates in a prayer/worship time every morning. It is the fabric of our organization.
“Blessed are You, O Lord, for You have heard the voice of my prayers. You are my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in You, and I am helped.” Psalm 28:6
It’s so important to take every major decision, conflict, worry and praise to the Lord. Because we believe in the power of prayer, we also pray over our safe water systems, both at the headquarters before they ship and in the field. And prayer is part of our ministry around the world; an opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ with others.
The fruit that comes from devotion in prayer is so sweet. We have seen a multitude of blessings from time spent in prayer, and will continue to Praise God for “every good and perfect gift from above” (James 1:17).
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2
We ask you to join us in prayer, both today and every day. Every week we send out weekly “Prayer Ripples” newsletters sharing our prayer requests and praise reports from all across the world. To receive these weekly e-newsletters, sign up by emailing prayer@watermissions.org.
How has prayer transformed your life?
Sustainability is not a word that we take lightly. At Water Missions International, we’re committed to it. We also think that the best solutions for providing sustainable access to safe water are yet to come. This is why we are committed to never settling for a one-size-fits-all solution, and why we’re committed to developing new ideas in order to better meet the needs of communities without access to safe water. We are constantly working to make our safe water solutions more sustainable, more effective, and more efficient. Sometimes these ideas and new developments come straight from the places we are trying to serve. Here’s a little insight into something that is happening in the field and with our Development and Engineering team.
It is estimated that 30% of all handpumps installed in sub-Saharan Africa over the past two decades have failed prematurely and that waterpoints in some areas such as the Chikwawa and Phalombe districts of Malawi are even less than 50% functional. Although there are many factors that can lead to such breakdowns, it is widely agreed that the primary driver of waterpoint failures in the developing world is lack of local investment in capital maintenance (i.e. money is not available to fix pumps, pipes and treatment equipment when they break). Tariffs and collection fees are often not sufficient to cover the recurring operation, maintenance and depreciation costs associated with water supply projects, especially when water use is low. In fact, financing ongoing water supply costs is the most critical challenge that international water professionals and community water committees are faced with today. The solution will most likely involve a combined effort at implementing transparent money handling procedures and generating additional revenue streams to supplement income from water sales. For this reason, we are constantly on the look-out for new ideas that could support our community-managed water supply systems.
r&d solutions.
We are excited about the potential that one of our most recent research and development projects holds. In truth, the initiative could revolutionize the way communities finance water supply systems… Continue Reading…
Rejoice with us as we proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter!
“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” -Acts 2:24
Happy Easter from Water Missions International!
A choir sings praise for the gift of Living Water. Rejoice with us!
We have had the great privilege of partnering with a number of corporations and companies who have a passion for helping bring an end to the global water crisis. We’ve shared our mission and these socially responsible corporations and foundations are coming alongside us to aid in providing safe water to more people around the world. In addition to our supporters and volunteers like you, our partners have provided critical funds to sustain our ministry.
One of these partners, The Pentair Foundation, announced last week a new five-year grant totaling $1 million to Water Missions International. The multi-year grant will fund the implementation of clean water and sanitation projects in developing countries, further building on the work of Pentair’s Project Safewater.
Safe Water through The Pentair Foundation's Partnership in La Libertad (Balfate), Honduras
