Kurkai is a town in Liberia where the only safe drinking water for more than a decade was from a well several hours’ walk away.

The round-trip – through isolated and potentially dangerous forests – took so long that by the time the women of Kurkai returned home with water, it was time to start preparing dinner.

The only sources near Kurkai were a hand-dug well that wasn’t deep enough or properly sealed to keep out sewage and other contaminants, and a nearby river whose water was equally unsafe for humans.

When townspeople relied on this well or the river, which they were forced to do when they needed water quickly or it was too dark to make the long trek to the safe water source, they often paid a painful price – severe stomach cramps and diarrhea.

“The outbreak of water-borne diseases is frequent and has claimed the lives of many children below the age of five,” Kurkai residents told Lifewater Canada when the Canadian charity arrived to drill a well.

Fortunately, that well has transformed the community. Families in Kurkai are much healthier, and with improved health, there have been lower child mortality rates and fewer costly visits to medical clinics. Children are attending school more consistently, and mothers and girls who used to spend much of each day carrying water now have time to start income-generating businesses or to attend school.

In these ways, the well is improving Kurkai’s physical health but also its economic and social health.

“Our worries are finally over,” said Fanta Jalloh, a grateful community leader. “Now our children can go to school and live free from the running stomach (diarrhea).”

An estimated 780 million people in the developing world are trying to survive each day while drinking dirty water. Someone – usually a child – is dying every 20 seconds from diarrheal diseases caused by dirty water and inadequate sanitation.

In response, Lifewater Canada is drilling new wells and repairing old ones, installing rainwater harvesting and storage systems, building community toilets, and providing health and hygiene training in Africa and Haiti.

We are doing it very cost-effectively – with only seven cents of every dollar spent on administration and fundraising. We are also doing it with a high degree of accountability – with a designated page on our website for every completed water project. Each page features project photos, GPS coordinates, a community profile, and a thank-you note from local leaders.

Charity Intelligence, which monitors the performance of more than 800 Canadian charities, has included Lifewater for three consecutive years in its list of the 10 charities achieving the most impact for donors.

The people of Kurkai have seen that impact. But many other towns and villages are still waiting for safe water. Will you provide it today?

Prayer Request:

Please thank God for the generosity He has instilled in so many people who support Lifewater Canada and ask Him to continue encouraging more generosity – because the need for safe, accessible water remains so urgent in Africa and Haiti. Also, please ask God to give Lifewater’s leaders great discernment when deciding where and how to invest what is donated to us to ensure maximum impact in His name. Finally, please ask God to ensure the safety of our drilling and repair teams as they travel to isolated and sometimes dangerous places.