The Case for Clean Water
Our Fight Against Intestinal Parasites in Children, One Water Filtration System at a Time.
Imagine that one morning, you feel especially thirsty, so you go to get yourself a big glass of cool, fresh water from your kitchen tap. You are able to drink it without worrying about whether it is safe to drink or not; in fact you probably just gulp it down without another thought, and continue about your day.
But what if things weren’t this way?
Now, go back to that same scenario, except this time, imagine that the water wasn’t safe. How would you feel knowing that despite the clear appearance, there were thousands of microscopic parasites floating about in that glass of water? You probably wouldn’t want to drink it, anymore. You might even prefer to go without water until you were able to find a safe source. Thankfully, this scenario is not something that we as Americans have to deal with in our everyday lives, thanks to treatments plants and safely bottled water.
But not everyone is so lucky. Over 2 billion people* still lack access to safe drinking water; that is almost one third of the Earth’s Population. These numbers consist primarily of people living in developing countries, including Honduras.
Although there have been some water treatment plants popping up in Honduras the past few years, the technology is still lagging behind, causing even the cities to struggle with access to clean water. The rural communities struggle even more so, as they are forced to rely on rivers and hand-dug wells due to the lack of water in general, and end up consuming a sickening cocktail of harmful bacteria and parasites.
So what’s the big deal, you may be asking. Sure, if you ingest a few parasites, you might get an upset stomach for a while, but is it really the end of the world? Unfortunately, for some of these children, it actually is. Intestinal parasites not only cause a slew of health problems, but they also play a large part in malnutrition. What happens when a child who is already malnourished from lack of food ends up with a bunch of nasty parasites in their gut? In most cases, the child will die. Over 3 million children die from malnutrition each year; coming out to about one child every 10 seconds.** By the time you finish reading this article, another 12 children will have passed away from lack of food.
Healthy Niños Honduras’ work began in 1987 with a mission to provide resources, education, and promote healthy habits and hygiene in rural communities. Over the years, we served hundreds of communities, providing food for the hungry, medicine for the sick, education on how to better take care of themselves in the communities, and deworming tablets for those with parasites. But despite all of these amazing efforts, there was still the major problem of lack of clean water.
Several years ago, we found an answer to that problem: a simple, bucket-based water filtration system.*** At only $40 each they can last a family up to 60 years with proper maintenance. Clean, safe water, for generations.
Since that discovery, we have provided hundreds of water filtration systems to families in need in Honduras. Thousands of people are able to drink water without worrying about getting sick or dying from intestinal parasites.
But that’s not enough. There are still people in need, and there is more work to be done. We will continue our work as long as we are able, and our goal is for every child to have a chance to survive and thrive. Water filtration systems are just one piece of that.
So what can you do to help? Here are a few ideas:
Become a monthly donor. Supporting us financially is one of the greatest ways to support our ministry. It doesn’t have to be a lot, even just $40 a month will help us provide a family with a new water filtration system every single month. That’s 12 families with fresh, clean water a year!
Go on a service trip with us. We run service trips throughout the year to offer people a chance to see what it is like in other countries for themselves, as well as give them a chance to see what we do and serve alongside us. We run medical/dental/construction brigades, care for families at our Nutritional Rehabilitation Center, and most importantly, spark hope for the future in communities. If you are interested in attending one of our trips, reach out to office@healthyninos.org for more information.
Support us in prayer. If you’re not in a place to support us financially or go on a mission trip, you can still help us continue our work in Honduras by supporting us in prayer. Pray for funding for our projects. Pray for resilience for our staff as they work long hours to serve those in need. Pray for the people we are serving, that they would grow healthy and strong. Pray for Honduras as a whole, and for the many countries that need support.
We are very grateful that we don’t have to worry about contamination in our water in the States, but our hearts go out to all those who don’t have that privilege. We will continue to serve those in need as long as we are able, whether it is through providing food, education, shelter, or water filtration systems. If you would like to help us with this mission to help every child have the chance to survive and thrive, please consider one of the options above.
References:
*https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/household-water-treatment.html
***https://www.sawyer.com/products/international-bucket-system