Water is Life! This slogan is often displayed whenever I arrive to visit water projects funded by our donors. We rarely think much about water in day-to-day life. It’s always available. Turn on a tap and it flows freely. Water is Life! I confess I didn’t truly understand the meaning of that slogan until I started working at Water to Thrive. Obviously, clean water is crucial for human health, but what are the other implications? Our name, Water to Thrive, is an apt name considering the definition of thrive; to flourish, prosper, succeed, to grow strongly, to do well. Access to clean, safe water is more than just being healthier, it is about prosperity. As we ask you, our supporters, to stretch with us and Dig Deep to reach our goal of 1,000 wells this anniversary year, it is not without reflecting over the last ten years of Water to Thrive’s history. The impact is monumental; 923 wells to date, 500,000 people with clean water access, three countries. But the implications are far beyond what can be counted. Imagine walking three miles to the nearest (unsafe) water source and then returning home carrying a 45-pound jug of water. The water is used for drinking, cooking and bathing and simply isn’t enough, so you return two more times during the day to make certain your family has enough. What could you do with six to eight hours of time saved from collecting water?
that they have time to enjoy their children. They can cook more nutritious meals. They have time to be better mothers, grandmothers and to serve their communities. When there is a well, time collecting water is minimized. Although most of the people served through your donations are farmers, herders, or otherwise tied to agriculture, clean water enables them to prosper. They can start small businesses selling produce, sewing, creating baskets, raising chickens. They can support their families. Water access creates economic development. Water is Life! As I travel to our water projects, I think about how different my life would be had I been born in a small village in east Africa. I see women my age who have endured long days of hard labor, who are bent from their years and heavy loads of water and firewood, whose hands are as tough as shoe leather. I thank God for my blessings, but I’m also reminded of the Bible verse “from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Luke 12:48). Most of us have everything we need and most of what we want. We are blessed with talents, skills, knowledge, and wealth, and it is part of our humanity to care for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for the past 10 years of service to others. And thank you for digging deep with us, supporting our vision of a world where we share generously to provide health, hope and water to all.
Water is Life! When asked about how their lives have changed after receiving the gift of a well, the women explain
Susanne M. Wilson, Executive Director