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Mother's death highlights life-saving value of Samaritan's Purse Water Projects
May 10, 2019 • Ethiopia
Filters turn dirty water into safe, drinkable water in minutes.
Sefa Nassir proudly showing visitors the latrine he dug and built himself, after our health and hygiene training taught him the importance of using latrines.
In a village in Ethiopia, the water from shallow wells is so tainted that several people have died from diarrheal diseases in the past 20 years.
The latest victim was a young mother. She died 12 months ago, leaving behind a husband and two children.
We learned about this tragedy while talking to local residents who had suffered through own diarrheal diseases caused by water from a 40-year-old well.
"I'd just sleep—I couldn't work," said Sefa Nassir, in recalling how he'd feel during his many bouts of high fever, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. The symptoms sometimes hit him or his wife hard when they were working in their farm fields. It was an enormous struggle to simply make it back home.
Missing school time
While they were recovering, the couple weren't earning any income. Instead, they were often forced to deal with the financial costs of visiting a nearby clinic and of prescription drugs.
Meanwhile, when their children experienced stomach ailments every week or two, they missed school and the precious opportunities offered by an education.
Thanks to donors like you, the health of Sefa and his family has improved dramatically. Samaritan's Purse and our local Christian partner installed a BioSand Water Filter in their home in April 2017. We also provided crucial hygiene and sanitation training. There has been no more fever, no more stomach cramps, and no more diarrhea.
"We have all had this same experience of improved health," Sefa says. "We are very excited to have these filters."
Sefa Nassir beside his life-saving BioSand Filter.
32,000 filters so far
Samaritan's Purse installed its first BioSand Filter in Ethiopia in 1999. With help from our local Christian partner, we've installed 32,000 more since then. We have also taken advantage of God-given opportunities to tell filter recipients that "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9, ESV).
Worldwide, through construction of our BioSand Filters for households and larger-scale Samaritan Filters for schools and small communities, we have provided safe water—plus crucial health and hygiene training—to almost 1.7 million people.
But sadly, as Sefa says: "Many people are still suffering from no clean water access."
Someone—usually a child—is dying every 37.5 seconds from diarrheal diseases caused by poor water and hygiene. And so Samaritan's Purse's water filters and hygiene training are still urgently needed. Please partner with us in providing proven solutions in Jesus' name.
Water Projects Save the life of a child or adult in a developing country by providing safe water along with health and hygiene education that will help protect them from deadly, but preventable, diseases. Simple and effective water filters, community wells and water storage solutions, and sanitation facilities can all drastically improve lives and open doors to share the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.
Water Projects - 080190
You can also make a donation by phone or mail:
+1-800-663-6500 (Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mountain time)
Samaritan's Purse Canada
20 Hopewell Way NE
Calgary, Alberta, T3J 5H5
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Over 800,000 people die each year from diseases caused by unclean water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene habits. The majority of these are children in developing countries. Providing clean water, coupled with health and hygiene education, is perhaps the most effective measure we can take in preventing infectious disease. Samaritan's Purse works around the world to provide clean water and promote safe hygiene practices.
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