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How Can I Provide Access to Clean Water?

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It’s a noble desire to provide access to clean water to people in need. Approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide, predominantly in developing regions such as Asia and Africa, lack access to safe drinking water. 1 The contaminated water many of these individuals drink often leads to waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, polio and diarrhea. According to the World Water Council, such diseases “are the most common cause of illness and death among the poor of developing countries.” 2 Many of these illnesses are preventable. Access to clean water also eases the burden of collection. In places like South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, many people must walk at least 30 minutes to collect water for their daily needs. 3 This chore typically falls to women and girls and drains their time and energy from more fruitful endeavors, such as generating income or gaining an education. There are numerous non-profit organizations through which you can help these men, women and child...
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How Much to Drill a Well?

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A water well can be an important asset that supplies a reliable, ample supply of water, especially in areas where surface water is scarce or contaminated. 1 When considering the costs of how much to drill a well, there are several factors involved. The cost varies based on casing, depth and size, but typically ranges from $3,750 to $15,300 for a residential water well. 2 While there are numerous companies one can hire to drill a well for personal use, multiple organizations provide wells for impoverished communities around the world that lack access to clean water. Many of the people living in these communities are among the 736 million living under the poverty line, earning $1.90 or less a day. 3 They often struggle to feed their families and can’t afford the luxury of clean water on their own. Thankfully, charities providing clean water, and compassionate individuals who partner with these charities, help meet this need. How much does it cost to provide a water well for people in n...
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Water Well Drilling: Stories of Impact

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In developing countries wrought with water scarcity and lack of clean water, water well drilling by charities such as GFA World can bring transformation to communities in need. These wells help protect people from a host of waterborne diseases and save valuable time for those tasked with collecting water for the family. Here are just a few examples of lives that have been impacted by GFA World’s Jesus Wells. In one village, an open well and small pond were the only sources of water, but they often failed to provide a sufficient supply. 1 In summertime, these sources often dried up. When rain once again filled the pond, it was commonly accompanied by leaves, garbage and cow manure. On at least one occasion, a chicken died in the well and contaminated their precious water. Unclean water led to various waterborne diseases. Something needed to change. Change came after GFA pastor Stavros learned of their water crisis. Soon, the village received a Jesus Well, at no cost to the community. N...
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Water Well Drilling for People in Need

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There are numerous organizations that offer well drilling services. While many such organizations do so for profit, other organizations—including GFA World—drill wells free of charge for impoverished communities in need to provide access to clean water . Worldwide, particularly in developing regions such as Asia and Africa, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean, safe drinking water. 1 Water well drilling offers a potential solution to this water crisis. According to the United Nations, “About 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year.” 2 A deeply dug well, however, eliminates people’s dependence on surface water and can offer water year-round from aquifers deep below the earth’s surface. In ancient times, wells were dug by hand, but this method can only produce a shallow well that may go dry in times of drought and typically lacks any type of casing to prevent contamination. 3 Most water wells today are drilled with specialized equipm...
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Income-generating Christmas Gifts Break the Cycle of Poverty

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It’s Throwback Thursday! We’re going back to 2005 to a group meeting in Gospel for Asia’s old office in Carrollton, Texas, where people are discussing potential opportunities to help meet more needs on the field. A question is raised, “What if we made a catalog with high-impact gifts donors could give to families in Asia at Christmastime?” The project was something new for the leaders at Gospel for Asia (GFA) . Providing farm animals and sewing machines was so different from what the ministry was doing at the time—supporting and equipping national missionaries, educating underprivileged children , drilling water wells—but helping impoverished families in Jesus’ name truly complimented the ministry’s vision . “The next year, we worked with the field with the idea of animals and other gifts,” said John, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) staff member since 1992. “It was exciting because it would give donors a whole new and completely different opportunity to minister to the poor while still s...
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Consumed by an Intense Love, Myo Zaw Visits 100 Communities in 3 Years Reports Gospel for Asia

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Love. That four-letter word that evokes varying degrees of feelings and meaning for every person. People talk about it, write about it, search for it and desire it. St. John the Apostle he experienced firsthand the purest form of love this world has ever known: Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In 1 John 4:7b–10, he wrote, “God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” This Apostle saw real love lived out. He saw the compassion that motivated Jesus Christ to bring new life to those around Him. It was love that compelled Him, and it’s His love that compels us. The strongest motivator for Gospel for Asia- supported workers to do what they do is love. Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan recently talked about this in one of his blog posts . He mentioned how a national worker was o...
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School of Discipleship in Wills Point, TX Emphasizes Holy Habits Says Gospel for Asia

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At Gospel for Asia (an hour outside of Dallas, Texas), we’re constantly yearning to be more like Christ and to be more and more conformed to His image. But how does one become a disciple of Christ? Gospel for Asia’s School of Discipleship (SD) program seeks to answer that question. Over the years, this program has challenged more than 100 young adults to die to themselves so they may live for Christ and be His disciples . The word “disciple” can take on various meanings, but at its core it means to know, follow closely after and be like your teacher. Daniel Punnose, vice president of Gospel for Asia, recently said that it’s “ the habits that we allow, entertain and commit to that will make or break us as disciples of Christ .” The staff involved in the day-to-day aspects of School of Discipleship understand this. They invest in each student that comes through the program so they may know what it means to be fully the Lord’s. They help students understand that it’s not head knowledge t...
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