I’m excited to announce our Giving Challenge for the month of September. We’re partnering with Blood:Water Mission to help more children in Africa have clean water. I was first introduced to Blood:Water Mission just last year at a fundraising event I attended. It’s a ministry that was actually founded by one of my all-time favorite Contemporary Christian Music groups, the Grammy-Award winning Jars of Clay. I’m grateful to co-founder and president of Blood:Water, Jena Lee Nardella, for guest posting and inviting all of us along on the journey to making a difference for kids who just need a chance.
In recent days, most kids have headed back to school in colorful new outfits, lugging backpacks loaded with fresh school supplies. If you’re a mom who made sure it happened, I’ll bet there was one item that was never on your shopping list–something you weren’t worried about at all.
Water.
American children have the blessing of attending schools that provide water fountains, bathroom faucets, and flushing toilets. But in Africa, many children cannot go to school because they instead must spend their days walking to find water. Sometimes the nearest water source is a river several miles away from their homes. That doesn’t leave any time for an education.
Most students in Kuna Primary School were forced to miss classes because of their families’ need for clean water. You see, in rural Kenya and other parts of Africa, water is not easy to come by. Families gather their water from contaminated sources like rivers and ponds, and they often have to walk miles to get there. When a family must choose between sending their children to gather water or to attend school, water wins. Every time.
But here’s an idea: What if the water source were provided at the child’s school? Students could attend classes (which is crucial for their own futures), drink clean water during the school day, and return home from school with water for their families.
Here is Kuna Primary School today, after Blood:Water Mission’s partnership for two 5,000 liter rain water catchment tanks. The results are remarkable: Jeremiah Omollo, a teacher at Kuna Primary School, reports that he is seeing children learning “to live healthy lives by drinking clean and safe water, using clean latrines, and washing hands after visiting latrines.” Additionally, student attendance has increased. Health records indicate a decrease in water-related diseases. Agricultural projects have begun on-site, and test scores have been at an all time high. (In fact, we are proud to report that Kuna’s standardized tests scored the highest in the district!) Blood:Water Mission is committed to ensuring that 3,000 more students across Africa can get back to school, by way of clean water provision. Won’t you join us?
Article by Jena Lee Nardella, President and Co-Founder of Blood:Water Mission. Learn more about Blood:Water Mission HERE .
Two Ways to Donate Now
I am thrilled to invite my readers to join this campaign to ensure that more schools like Kuna can have improved water sources and latrines. As we count our blessings for the ways our children have the basic needs of water provided, let’s extend our love and compassion to help children in Africa say yes to health and education!
If you would like to donate, go to the Giving Challenge project page on Pure Charity HERE. You’ll notice the widget in the sidebar of the blog–that’s new! We’ll be able to see how we are doing with our giving, spread the word, and be sure we get this project fully funded! (Be sure to check out my Pure Charity Page to discover why we’re teaming up with them for our Giving Challenge projects!)
You may also donate by visiting the Blood:Water Mission Project Page HERE.
The Giving Challenge is a team effort of Faithful Provisions readers to provide for a need at a a different ministry every month. Learn more about what we’ve done so far this year.
