Guest Author - Rev. Jackie O´Neal S.T.M.

WaterPartners International, a non-profit based in the United States has helped provide safe drinking water, and better sanitation systems to villages in the developing world.
The global water crisis carries with it many alarming realities for persons living in the developing nations.

Statistics estimate that every 15 seconds, a child dies from water-borne disease. Water related disease is in point of fact, the leading cause of serious illness and death in the world. For example, water related disease such as typhoid fever, bacterial protozoal diarrhhea , and hepatitis A, create fatal consequences every day. Currently, the water hyacinth infestation of Africa’s, Lake Victoria, contributes to the devastation of human life.

Over 1 billion people struggle due to the lack of accessibility to clean, safe drinking water. It is fairly common for women to walk for miles in search of water, thus preventing their children from being able to attend school, and themselves from contributing income to the family.

For the majority of persons in the developing nations, safe drinking water equals freedom from disease and increased productivity.

Gary White, founder and Executive Director of WaterPartners International, noted, “ When community members are invested and involved in their water project, they will ensure that the project is sustainable and accessible in the long haul.”

Through the organization’s WaterCredit Initiative, community leaders are identified in each village, and each community forms a water committee that becomes actively engaged in supervising the management of the water system.

In Kisumu, Kenya a village project is developing an awareness campaign on water and solid waste. The people of Kisumu recognize that morbidity and mortality rates can be significantly reduced once access to safe water becomes available. Sometimes villages can be taught how to safely reuse household drinking water and recycle solid waste, however many of these projects depend on funding which can take years, and even as much as a decade to obtain.

The WaterCredit Initiative has greatly changed that scenario, and allows persons to get access to credit for loans that can be re-paid into a revolving fund. It follows a model of a “multiplier effect” whereby many can be helped financially, via one philanthropic endeavor.

Only three years old, the WaterCredit Initiative was launched through a grant by The Agora Foundation and continues to bring about immediate results for villages in urgent need of safe, clean drinking water, not only to improve the quality of lives, but also to ensure villages can thrive economically.

To learn more about WaterPartners, visit: http://www.water.org

Listen to a pre-recorded interview with Gary White, founder and Executive Director of WaterPartners International on NBBTA Radio : http://www.nbbta.org/channel21.htm