Clean, running water is a luxury in many villages across the world. Waterborne diseases account for thousands of deaths each year.
Our Lenten series on the Clean Water for Life project is wrapping up and this week we answer some common questions about the work to provide life-saving water resources in many remote areas of the world.
What is this project all about? Since 2003, the Sisters have been addressing the lack of clean water in the Congo, Nigeria and Latin America where our Sisters live and work. Through the generosity of our donors, we can harness solar power that provides electricity and runs water filtration systems.
Why is this project a priority for the Sisters? In each village, the Sisters own and operate schools and hospitals. These two ministries both suffer when clean water is unavailable. Children miss school when they spend up to two hours a day going to the river for water. Children are also the most vulnerable to waterborne illnesses like cholera and dysentery. Globally, more than 1,200 children die from preventable diarrheal diseases each day (who.int).
Where are the Sisters serving in water-deprived areas? The continent of Africa has a critical need, and the Sisters go where they are needed. Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa are a few of the areas where SNDdeN schools and hospitals exist.
What is being done locally in the US? For the past five years, we have partnered with Engineers Without Borders to build a Learning Lab on our Mount Notre Dame campus. The purpose of the lab is to test and refine life-changing technologies and equipment used to bring electricity and clean water to places served by our Sisters in Africa.
In addition, our sponsored and affiliated schools raise awareness about the water crisis and raise thousands of dollars each year to make the work of the Clean Water for Life project happen.
How can I help? Our call during the Lenten season is to share with grateful and humble hearts the goodness of God through prayer, fasting and extending empathy toward those without basic resources.
- PRAY for those in Africa without electricity or clean water, circumstances that guarantee a greater risk for deadly, waterborne diseases.
- FAST from wasting electricity and water, two vital resources that many live without daily.
- LEARN about the challenges for those who lack access to basic resources, including the impact on health and education. Visit sndohio.org.
PRAYER:
Good and loving God, thank you for inspiring SNDs and our many partners to launch the Clean Water Project! Please bless all those participating in it. May the students working in our Learning Lab and raising funds for the project grow in loving solidarity with their sisters and brothers in the southern hemisphere! Amen. -- Sister Mary Ann Cook, SNDdeN.