End Waterborne Illness for Girls like Lomi

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"I dream that my family will live safely.” - Meseret

Your gift provides a clean water source, health training, and hope to children like Lomi living in East Africa and Cambodia.

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  • Give Children Water
  • FAQ's

Your gift provides a clean water source, health training, and hope to children like Lomi living in East Africa and Cambodia.

 

Life for Lomi

April 2021

 

All over the world, diarrheal disease takes the lives of young children. In fact, the third leading cause of death for children under five years old is diarrheal disease, an illness caused primarily by drinking unsafe water.

In Bensa, Ethiopia, Meseret, her two daughters, and her husband, Tamirat, live with the burden of contaminated water. Four times a day, Mesert gathers water from a contaminated spring in the forest. It’s a 20-minute walk one way.

Meseret has an infant and a three-year-old. Last month, three-year-old Lomi had to be rushed to the hospital for typhoid, a waterborne illness. They paid a high price at the hospital, and it pushed the family deeper into poverty.

Despite these challenges and daily fear that Meseret lives with, she has hope for the future.

“I dream that my family will live safely and that I’ll be able to grow my children properly just like their peers living in town,” Meseret said. “I hope to fulfill every necessary thing for them.”

Meseret’s family lives in the town of Allo in Bensa, Ethiopia. For three months out of the year, the rain ceases, and the spring begins to dry up. Those days, Meseret and her children spend hours waiting for water.

While Meseret nurses her daughter, gathers water, and does tasks around the home, her husband works on the farm and breeds their livestock. But, Meseret has dreams for herself.

“I want to continue my education,” she said. “I hope to have a job after completing my college education.”

WIth safe water, children just like Lomi in Bensa, Ethiopia can drink safe water. Your gift protects them from dangerous waterborne illnesses. Women like Meseret in surrounding communities can stop spending their days walking and waiting for water, and start owning businesses or returning to school.

Give Children Water

 

Recent data shows that, every year, 525,000 children under the age of five die from diarrheal disease.

In contrast, the results from one of our safe water and sanitation programs in Ethiopia shows that the simple implementation of sanitation and hygiene habits, along with access to clean water, reduced diarrheal disease in children by 98%. 

This means that one of the world’s leading causes of death for children can be virtually eliminated by clean water and basic hygiene practices: using a latrine, washing hands with soap, and washing and drying dishes in a clean environment.

Children without access to safe water also struggle in other areas. They often miss class because they have to help their parents fetch water from a faraway source or because they are sick with a waterborne disease. Without a sanitary bathroom, girls in particular miss school while they are menstruating and risk being forced to drop out entirely.

The good news is, all of this is preventable. Access to clean drinking water and basic hygiene saves lives and allows children to complete their education successfully, creating better opportunities for generations to come.

Children around the world need your help. Give safe water to children today.

Am I sponsoring a specific village?

No, your gift will help provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene to women and children living in East Africa and Cambodia.

Will I receive updates?

Yes! You can expect regular updates on the progress of your gift. And, when the communities in the region are transformed with safe water, you’ll receive a story and photos from a family whose life is changed because of your gift.

Can I visit programs and/or my sponsored water project?

Lifewater has local staff that live and serve among the communities and schools where Lifewater works. Our staff know the language and the culture and are best equipped to serve communities. Because we seek to ensure sustainable water projects and community buy in, we do not allow donors to visit the projects they sponsor. However, we do commit to sending real-time updates, photos, and stories from the projects themselves.

Where does Lifewater work?

With more than 40 years’ experience, LIfewater is the longest-running Christian clean water charity in North America. Over those 40 years, Lifewater has worked in more than 45 different countries. Currently, our work is focused in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia).

Why these countries and regions?

Lifewater identifies countries and regions that are unreached and underserved with basic water access and sanitation, which means we focus on areas where other organizations are not serving.

Although great strides have been made in the past 20 years to solve the global water crisis, remote and rural populations still remain unreached with adequate water and sanitation. These distant regions are difficult and often costly for governments and NGOs to serve well. Many of these communities feel as though they have been forgotten.

Can I request a water project in a specific country?

Currently, Lifewater has programs in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cambodia. You can go to lifewater.org/projects to select a specific water project to help. Because our programs are regionalized and made in partnership with the local governments, we are not able to take requests for specific water projects outside of our existing programs.

What percent of funds go towards programs?

Lifewater budgets 80% of expenditures for programs. The remaining 20% is split between administrative/management and fundraising expenses. This ratio is best in class for nonprofits and is why Lifewater has received the highest rating from Charity Navigator.

Administrative/management expenses are used to ensure that we are effective in managing the funds entrusted to us and include the following types of expenses: accounting personnel, leadership time, professional development of staff, external auditors, legal counsel, government registration expenses in every U.S. state, credit card fees for processing donations, bank fees, database maintenance, and office expenses.

Fundraising expenses generate the income needed to do the work that we set out to do. These include the cost of direct mail appeals and communication, marketing projects, donor relations personnel, and email communication systems. Last year, every dollar invested into Lifewater fundraising efforts resulted in $10 of donation for the organization.

Is Lifewater approved/vetted by 3rd party organizations?

Over our 40 year history, Lifewater has received the highest accreditations from the most respected rating organization in the industry. Lifewater is recognized as one of the top-rated charities in the United States by independent reporting organizations, including:

Charity Navigator (four stars)
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
Guidestar (Platinum)
Great Nonprofits (five star)
Excellence in Giving
Learn more at https://lifewater.org/top-rated-charity.

How does Lifewater integrate faith into its work?

Lifewater’s work is founded on the belief that every person is made in the image of God. It is with this conviction that we seek out the globe’s most unreached, marginalized people groups in need of safe water.

Both nationally and internationally, 100 percent of our staff are Christians. These Christian staff help facilitate Lifewater’s Healthy Church strategy in communities. And, where there are no churches, we work with church planting partners to start new churches.

To create Healthy Churches, Lifewater first trains church leaders in foundational theology. These leaders are equipped with the basic story of the Christian faith and the biblical mandate to love others. Leaders learn that stopping the spread of disease and caring for the vulnerable aligns with our responsibility as Christians to love our neighbor.

Second, Lifewater ensures churches have safe bathrooms on their premises, handwashing stations, clean water nearby, and the education to promote health within their congregations. It’s imperative that churches are early adopters of healthy hygiene practices.

Third, Lifewater encourages churches to help vulnerable households become Healthy Homes. Church leaders undergo a training to become WASH (water access, sanitation, and hygiene) advocates in their communities. These advocates are encouraged to identify widows, child-headed households, the elderly, and the disabled to help them meet the health standards of Lifewater’s programs.

What is Lifewater’s process? What does the organization do, and how does it do it?

Lifewater’s Vision of a Healthy Village strategy is a relationship-first method. This model transforms entire regions house by house, village by village, and school by school. It is among the most intensive household-level work happening in the entire developing world and is closely tracked for progress, sustainability, and overall impact.

We construct custom-engineered safe water sources and teach life-saving health and sanitation practices in local villages and schools in need.

Story

Your gift provides a clean water source, health training, and hope to children like Lomi living in East Africa and Cambodia.

 

Life for Lomi

April 2021

 

All over the world, diarrheal disease takes the lives of young children. In fact, the third leading cause of death for children under five years old is diarrheal disease, an illness caused primarily by drinking unsafe water.

In Bensa, Ethiopia, Meseret, her two daughters, and her husband, Tamirat, live with the burden of contaminated water. Four times a day, Mesert gathers water from a contaminated spring in the forest. It’s a 20-minute walk one way.

Meseret has an infant and a three-year-old. Last month, three-year-old Lomi had to be rushed to the hospital for typhoid, a waterborne illness. They paid a high price at the hospital, and it pushed the family deeper into poverty.

Despite these challenges and daily fear that Meseret lives with, she has hope for the future.

“I dream that my family will live safely and that I’ll be able to grow my children properly just like their peers living in town,” Meseret said. “I hope to fulfill every necessary thing for them.”

Meseret’s family lives in the town of Allo in Bensa, Ethiopia. For three months out of the year, the rain ceases, and the spring begins to dry up. Those days, Meseret and her children spend hours waiting for water.

While Meseret nurses her daughter, gathers water, and does tasks around the home, her husband works on the farm and breeds their livestock. But, Meseret has dreams for herself.

“I want to continue my education,” she said. “I hope to have a job after completing my college education.”

WIth safe water, children just like Lomi in Bensa, Ethiopia can drink safe water. Your gift protects them from dangerous waterborne illnesses. Women like Meseret in surrounding communities can stop spending their days walking and waiting for water, and start owning businesses or returning to school.

Give Children Water

Give Children Water

 

Recent data shows that, every year, 525,000 children under the age of five die from diarrheal disease.

In contrast, the results from one of our safe water and sanitation programs in Ethiopia shows that the simple implementation of sanitation and hygiene habits, along with access to clean water, reduced diarrheal disease in children by 98%. 

This means that one of the world’s leading causes of death for children can be virtually eliminated by clean water and basic hygiene practices: using a latrine, washing hands with soap, and washing and drying dishes in a clean environment.

Children without access to safe water also struggle in other areas. They often miss class because they have to help their parents fetch water from a faraway source or because they are sick with a waterborne disease. Without a sanitary bathroom, girls in particular miss school while they are menstruating and risk being forced to drop out entirely.

The good news is, all of this is preventable. Access to clean drinking water and basic hygiene saves lives and allows children to complete their education successfully, creating better opportunities for generations to come.

Children around the world need your help. Give safe water to children today.

FAQ's

Am I sponsoring a specific village?

No, your gift will help provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene to women and children living in East Africa and Cambodia.

Will I receive updates?

Yes! You can expect regular updates on the progress of your gift. And, when the communities in the region are transformed with safe water, you’ll receive a story and photos from a family whose life is changed because of your gift.

Can I visit programs and/or my sponsored water project?

Lifewater has local staff that live and serve among the communities and schools where Lifewater works. Our staff know the language and the culture and are best equipped to serve communities. Because we seek to ensure sustainable water projects and community buy in, we do not allow donors to visit the projects they sponsor. However, we do commit to sending real-time updates, photos, and stories from the projects themselves.

Where does Lifewater work?

With more than 40 years’ experience, LIfewater is the longest-running Christian clean water charity in North America. Over those 40 years, Lifewater has worked in more than 45 different countries. Currently, our work is focused in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia).

Why these countries and regions?

Lifewater identifies countries and regions that are unreached and underserved with basic water access and sanitation, which means we focus on areas where other organizations are not serving.

Although great strides have been made in the past 20 years to solve the global water crisis, remote and rural populations still remain unreached with adequate water and sanitation. These distant regions are difficult and often costly for governments and NGOs to serve well. Many of these communities feel as though they have been forgotten.

Can I request a water project in a specific country?

Currently, Lifewater has programs in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cambodia. You can go to lifewater.org/projects to select a specific water project to help. Because our programs are regionalized and made in partnership with the local governments, we are not able to take requests for specific water projects outside of our existing programs.

What percent of funds go towards programs?

Lifewater budgets 80% of expenditures for programs. The remaining 20% is split between administrative/management and fundraising expenses. This ratio is best in class for nonprofits and is why Lifewater has received the highest rating from Charity Navigator.

Administrative/management expenses are used to ensure that we are effective in managing the funds entrusted to us and include the following types of expenses: accounting personnel, leadership time, professional development of staff, external auditors, legal counsel, government registration expenses in every U.S. state, credit card fees for processing donations, bank fees, database maintenance, and office expenses.

Fundraising expenses generate the income needed to do the work that we set out to do. These include the cost of direct mail appeals and communication, marketing projects, donor relations personnel, and email communication systems. Last year, every dollar invested into Lifewater fundraising efforts resulted in $10 of donation for the organization.

Is Lifewater approved/vetted by 3rd party organizations?

Over our 40 year history, Lifewater has received the highest accreditations from the most respected rating organization in the industry. Lifewater is recognized as one of the top-rated charities in the United States by independent reporting organizations, including:

Charity Navigator (four stars)
Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
Guidestar (Platinum)
Great Nonprofits (five star)
Excellence in Giving
Learn more at https://lifewater.org/top-rated-charity.

How does Lifewater integrate faith into its work?

Lifewater’s work is founded on the belief that every person is made in the image of God. It is with this conviction that we seek out the globe’s most unreached, marginalized people groups in need of safe water.

Both nationally and internationally, 100 percent of our staff are Christians. These Christian staff help facilitate Lifewater’s Healthy Church strategy in communities. And, where there are no churches, we work with church planting partners to start new churches.

To create Healthy Churches, Lifewater first trains church leaders in foundational theology. These leaders are equipped with the basic story of the Christian faith and the biblical mandate to love others. Leaders learn that stopping the spread of disease and caring for the vulnerable aligns with our responsibility as Christians to love our neighbor.

Second, Lifewater ensures churches have safe bathrooms on their premises, handwashing stations, clean water nearby, and the education to promote health within their congregations. It’s imperative that churches are early adopters of healthy hygiene practices.

Third, Lifewater encourages churches to help vulnerable households become Healthy Homes. Church leaders undergo a training to become WASH (water access, sanitation, and hygiene) advocates in their communities. These advocates are encouraged to identify widows, child-headed households, the elderly, and the disabled to help them meet the health standards of Lifewater’s programs.

What is Lifewater’s process? What does the organization do, and how does it do it?

Lifewater’s Vision of a Healthy Village strategy is a relationship-first method. This model transforms entire regions house by house, village by village, and school by school. It is among the most intensive household-level work happening in the entire developing world and is closely tracked for progress, sustainability, and overall impact.

We construct custom-engineered safe water sources and teach life-saving health and sanitation practices in local villages and schools in need.

Your gift reflects your trust in Lifewater International. We commit to honor your generosity by using your gift to help further the mission and vision of Lifewater International. Your donation is used by Lifewater International according to the project objectives to provide safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene. Lifewater International is a charitable organization as described in 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, registered in the United States. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Donations are non-refundable. Lifewater International will honor a donor’s request for any pre-approved program or project whenever possible. In rare occasions where this is not possible, gifts will be used where needed, in accordance with the organization’s charitable purpose. In accordance with this policy, donor’s explicitly release Lifewater International from further restriction on such funds.