June, 2012—As a grandmother living in rural Uganda, Susan had no choice but to use dirty water for her family.
The sole water supply in her community caused diarrheal diseases including dysentery and typhoid. This often prevented Susan’s eight grandchildren from attending school, and much of her meager income was spent on treatments for these preventable diseases.
When Samaritan’s Purse offered BioSand Water Filters to the village, Susan learned about the benefits of drinking clean water and maintaining good health in her home through sanitation and hygiene.
After signing up to help build her filter and have it installed in her household, she was amazed at the difference between the dirty water poured into the filter and the clean water that flowed out.
“Without a BioSand Filter, people would have died one by one due to drinking and using dirty water all the time,” she said.
Susan has also seen a noticeable improvement in her family’s health.
“I now save a lot more money than when I had to buy drugs often. My grandchildren now attend school regularly.”
Thanks to donations from generous Canadians, Gad and Mpirirwe Adrine also experienced the life-changing effects of our BioSand Water Filter program in Uganda. The husband-and-wife worked hard in their gardens to provide for their seven children, but were forced to spend money treating water-related diseases.
The burden of chopping and burning endless firewood to boil polluted, dirty water did not free Gad’s family from disease, because utensils washed in dirty water often negated all their efforts. Even their clothing could not be thoroughly cleaned because of the dirty water.
Gad was amazed at the transformation in his family’s health after receiving a BioSand Water Filter.
“[Having clean water] was only a dream before,” he said. “White clothes no longer get stained when washed with filtered water.”
Samaritan’s Purse water projects also focus on teaching sanitation and hygiene. These teaching sessions give us an opportunity to share the love of Christ through our actions and words.
Save the life of a child or adult in a developing country by providing safe water along with health and hygiene education that will help protect them from deadly, but preventable, diseases. Simple and effective water filters, community wells and water storage solutions, and sanitation facilities can all drastically improve lives and open doors to share the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.