WATER PROJECTS · CHRISTMAS CATALOG
Everything changed for Kakada through a Samaritan’s Purse water project.
Thanks to generous donors like you, a young boy can drink clean water, free from the threat of disease.
Your gift today will give children like Kakada life and health through safe water.
Kakada’s Story
Your gift of safe water changed Kakada’s life
Kakada* lifts his water bottle and takes a deep drink of the clear, clean liquid inside. Behind him stands his school’s community BioSand Water Filter—the source of his safe drinking water.
The energetic 10-year-old can remember when quenching his thirst at his Cambodian school came with great risk. He often got sick with diarrhea and stomach pains, and his little brother spent weeks in the hospital fighting for his life from Typhoid Fever. But those days are over. Your gift of safe water has changed that reality for Kakada. “I feel proud of my school, and I no longer get sick,” he rejoiced.
Your gifts today give children and families safe water that changes life from constant sickness to revitalized health.
*Name changed for privacy.
The Need
Unclean Water Endangers a Child’s Life
Before a BioSand Filter was installed at Kakada’s school, the only water source was a hand pump connecting to a local river. Each sip threatened students with typhoid, cholera, parasites, and other potentially deadly diseases. Kakada had gotten sick from the pump before with intense stomach pains and diarrhea—many times it was bad enough that he missed school.
Unsafe water is a reality faced by countless children like Kakada around the world. Roughly 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. For school-age children, that’s an estimated 443 million school days missed. Over a million deaths annually are attributed to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene. But there is a solution!
“I will give of the foundation of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” — Revelation 21:6
The Solution
Water Filters Save Lives
The gift of a water filter changes everything. The BioSand Filter at Kakada’s school uses a powerful, natural system to remove deadly bacteria and parasites. With access to safe water, Kakada no longer gets sick. His school also has new toilets, a hand-washing station, and clean garbage disposal. Kakada has taken the lessons he’s learned about clean hygiene practices home to ensure his family stays safe and healthy.
Since 1998, gifts like yours have provided filters at over 530 schools and in more than 306,000 homes—giving safe water to over 1.7 million people.
- The Canadian-invented BioSand Water Filter uses layers of sand, gravel, and naturally occurring micro-organisms to remove bacteria and parasites that make people sick.
- The filters require no electricity and are simple for families to maintain.
- The BioSand Filter can reduce bacteria by 95% and turbidity (cloudiness) by 85%.
- Filters installed decades ago still produce safe water today! Families also receive hygiene training to help create a healthy home.
- The large school BioSand Filter can provide around 500 staff and students with safe water daily.
- Samaritan’s Purse also drills wells, builds reservoirs, and installs other types of filters.
As we work to share the gift of safe water, God opens doors to share Jesus Christ, who is the “living water”(John 4:10, NKJV).
Lives Transformed
When You Give This Christmas, You Give a Family Life-Changing Safe Water in Jesus’ Name.
“The water we offer to our friends is not just clean water, but the water that Jesus offered—the water that gives life.”
Janella · Samaritan's PUrse partner, Philippines
“We are so grateful. We used to get very sick. Since we began to drink from the filter, we are at peace.”
Samuel · Father of Two, Democratic Republic of Congo
“My problem was taken away by having clean water and a latrine, but my sin was taken away by having the blood of Jesus Christ.”
Maly · Student, Cambodia
Impact of Your Christmas Gift
Choose a Gift — Change a Life
$175 Water Filter
$175 can give 1 water filter for a family.
Water and Hygiene Facilities
$45 per student can help cover the $22,000 needed to build a school water filter, hand-washing stations, and latrines.
$250 Well/Reservoir
$250 can share in the $5,000 cost of 1 well, reservoir, or rainwater storage tank for a community.
Join Us in Changing Lives
Together, We Can Give Children Freedom from Waterborne Disease
Kakada and his little brother are both healthy and attending school with confidence. He dreams of seeing other schools in his village also have access to clean water and an improved school experience, as they learn about Jesus. When Samaritan’s Purse taught the students about safe hygiene practices, they also shared the Gospel. When Kakada heard the Good News of Jesus, he joyfully shared, “God is so good!” As Kakada feels God’s love in every sip of safe water, he also shares about the Lord Jesus with his family, cousins, and relatives in another province.
