Our lives overflow with busyness. We focus time and attention on our work, fun activities, and our hobbies. This list of pursuits doesn’t include gathering water. However, millions of people, mostly women and children, spend countless hours collecting water for their families.
Basic daily water requirements per person are surprisingly minimal. According to the World Health Organization, a mere 2 gallons is the minimum water necessary for survival. Less than 5.5 gallons is required for basic body and food hygiene. Just over 13 gallons is needed if you desire clean clothes and a more proper bath.
Collectively, women and children spend 200 million hours each year fetching water for their families. These are hours children miss from school, hours women could otherwise spend tending a garden or working on an income-producing trade. These are hours often lost to a labor-intensive, 4-mile daily walk carrying an average of 44 pounds on the return trip home.
By making clean water available through water wells and filters, not only are communities physically healthier, but women and children become free from this time-consuming burden they carry daily.
Shortages of safe, clean water and lack of sanitation and hygiene programs create the most significant source of suffering on earth. GAiN® works with community leadership in areas of need to develop and carry out clean water and sanitation projects. We accomplish our mission, in partnership with international Cru® teams, through food and agriculture, clean water, and critical aid. Our partners at Cru work in more than 191 countries in the world.
The GAiN® Clean Water program provides deep water wells and filters, giving people access to safe drinking water in areas where water is scarce or supplies teem with contaminants. With a deep water well close by, community residents need not drink and cook with the same water they use to bathe, do laundry, or water animals. The burden of spending hours collecting and carrying water long distances becomes a thing of the past.
With the help of partners like you, GAiN® cares for the physical needs of people through clean water. At the same time, our in-country partners in these difficult locations around the world demonstrate the love of Jesus to those who never have experienced His kind of love. Kindness leads people to receive the hope of Christ. How can you show kindness today? Learn how you can volunteer or support their work here.
As the humanitarian partner of Cru, Global Aid Network (GAiN) expresses the love of Jesus Christ in the toughest places on earth by relieving suffering, restoring dignity, and revealing hope. We accomplish our mission, in partnership with international Cru ministries, through food and agriculture, clean water, and critical aid. Our partners at Cru work in more than 191 countries in the world.
On MissionFinder, we have over 1,000 ministries offering opportunities like this to serve at home and around the world. Does your church or organization need help organizing mission trips? Check out our partner site, MissionMinder.com. Their easy to use software will help you manage all the details for your short-term mission trips and team members online. Unlimited Trips. Unlimited team members. Easy online fundraising for your team members. Try it free for 30 days. Learn more here.
© Lara Strain
