International Volunteer Coordinator Leah Thormoset recently visited Nicaragua on a Samaritan’s Purse water team. There, she met children who will grow up a whole lot healthier because of Canadians’ gifts of BioSand Water Filters.
March, 2014 – Graciela and her husband have two children: A boy named Lesbier and a nine-month-old daughter. This photo was taken the day their filter was installed.
“We’re looking forward to how this filter will improve the health of our children,” Graciela told me. “Right now we have health problems because of the water we drink, but this filter will take away those problems.”
Having clean water at home will no doubt be a blessing to little Lesbier; he’s a smart, friendly five-year-old with a great sense of humor! He works hard at school and is learning to read already.
Lesbier really enjoys drawing and is very good at writing. He was proud to show us his drawings and the assignments he’s completed at school recently—as well as count to ten for us in English!
We also met Cecilia, who lives with her daughter and four grandchildren in a house that’s made of mere tin, plastic, and pieces of wood. The makeshift walls of the house are actually sheets hung from the ceiling. This photo was taken on the day they received their BioSand Water Filter.
“The well we use has dirty water and we have been suffering from kidney problems,” Cecilia said. “This filter will improve our health so much.”
The children watched curiously as our local water projects staff installed their filter and tested its flow rate. Later, I found out that the mineral content in dirty water can be very high, which is why Cecilia and so many others in the region suffer from kidney problems.
BioSand Water Filters like the 200,000 that Canadians have donated through Samaritan’s Purse, reduce unwanted mineral content. As a result, families who have had their filters for several weeks report that their kidney issues have been greatly minimized or eliminated altogether.
Lastly, let me tell you about Marta, who has had her filter for several weeks already. She is a single mother with two children, ages five and 14. She earns a meager income selling tortillas, and the gift of a BioSand Water Filter is having a big impact on her family’s well-being…
“Our health has really improved after having this filter for a month,” she told me. “We thank God for this blessing for our family.”
On my trip, I had an amazing opportunity to see the impact of Canadian support in the lives of hurting people. And though millions still desperately need the gift of clean water, you can help change that.
