Gospel for Asia: BioSand Water Filters Bring Hope & Health to Families in Need

“Water is life, and clean water is health.“— Audrey Hepburn

Clean, pure water. It really is the stuff of life. And it’s such a non-issue in the Western world. When we need a drink, we turn on the tap. But for millions of men, women and children living in places across Asia and Africa, access to clean water is more than just a challenge; for many, it doesn’t exist.

Imagine for a moment preparing a simple meal for yourself or your children. You’ve probably made breakfast thousands of times. Now imagine that the only available water is contaminated with bacteria, heavy metals and even feces. Imagine what it’s like to feel thirsty or hungry and have no other option. Can you?

That’s not the setting for a dramatic movie script; it’s real life. And it’s why Gospel for Asia (GFA) strives every day to help families in Asia gain access to clean, healthy water, through solutions like BioSand water filters. They are simple, effective and can change a family’s life.

The Need for Clean Water Can’t be Overstated

Throughout many parts of Asia, clean water is either unavailable or it’s challenging to access. The numbers are staggering. Some estimates place surface-water contamination levels at 80 percent or higher in Asia. According to a 2016 Water Aid report, over 75 million people in one Asian nation have no access to clean water. That’s the highest concentration in the world. As surface-water contamination increases, groundwater reserves decline. More and more families either use polluted water or are forced to buy clean water elsewhere, a trend that’s only predicted to grow. Prices for clean water can be as high as 20 percent of a poor family’s income.

Sadly, contaminated water leads to illness and even death. Hundreds of thousands of Asian children die each year from diseases contracted by drinking and using contaminated water. That’s hundreds of precious children’s lives lost to preventable diseases every single day. Adults are not immune to waterborne disease either.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Generational Poverty: A Cycle Not Worth Repeating

Image
The cycle of generational poverty can seem impossible to break. Children inherit what their parents teach and show them. a joint report from Ascend: The Aspen Institute and Bernard van Leer Foundation affirms this. “What young children learn from the adults who raise and care for them lays the foundation for future social, emotional, language, and cognitive growth,” the report says. 1 Children raised in a generational poverty mindset often lack the tools they need to succeed or achieve a better life than that of their parents. As adults, these individuals often then raise their children in poverty similar to that of their own childhoods, and the cycle perpetuates. It’s a cycle not worth repeating, yet it does time and time again. For the 736 million people worldwide living below the poverty line, earning $1.90 a day or less, the focus is frequently on mere survival. 2 Children are disproportionately affected by extreme poverty, says UNICEF, as “children who grow up impoverished often...
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e...
Read more

What Do I Need to Know about the Global Poverty Rate?

Image
Statisticians are getting better at measuring the global poverty rate every year. The World Bank is one group working hard to accurately measure it so that the extent of the problem is fully known and so that progress can be measured. [1] Through governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), we can more clearly see the last decade of progress and the most recent effects driving poverty rates. Sub-Saharan Africa has been one area difficult to measure, but new data shows an overall reduction in the percentage of those in poverty. Unfortunately, there is an increase in total number of people living at or below the official poverty rate of $1.90 per day. [2] That doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. With good statistics and a clear view of the problem, countries and organizations can use the proven methods to regain any ground lost. Additionally, valuable lessons have been learned about how to protect the most vulnerable and how to prevent some of the worst effects. GFA World is un...
Read more