Twenty-three years ago, a group of people from Sugar Creek Baptist Church — a church I now pastor — took a trip to Kenya. While they were there, many of them saw firsthand the lack of safe water that still plagues nearly a billion of our fellow human beings. They felt called to respond, and within the year founded Living Water International. My church has continued to support Living Water ever since, and I have the privilege of serving on its board.
Today, the global water crisis is still desperate, and we need to respond. Around the world, 780 million people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation. It seems overwhelming, but this is a crisis we have solutions for. We don't have to find a cure — we have one. We just need to be diligent and faithful. We have made great strides forward in recent years, and I have seen churches like mine support hundreds of projects. To date, Living Water International alone has completed nearly 13,000 water projects in 26 countries. When these projects become part of the fabric and ownership of each community, their life-giving services remain sustainable into the future.
Everyone can and should play a role in scaling sustainable projects to meet urgent needs. This includes great civic organizations, led by the example of Rotary International, to international bodies, including our own government. In 2005, Congress passed the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act. It provided millions of impoverished people in developing countries with drinkable water and basic sanitation — advancing parallel investments in education, economic growth, nutrition, environmental conservation, and democracy. In fact, for every $1.00 invested in water and sanitation, approximately $4.00 is returned through saved time, increased productivity, and decreased health care costs. But we can do better. Last year, a bill designed to improve the efficiency of the Water for the Poor Act failed to pass, despite broad bipartisan support. The bill, called the Water for the World Act, does not require any new funding, and should be introduced — and passed — this year.
March 22 is World Water Day. I love the fact that it falls in the middle of the Easter season. Easter is a time of spiritual renewal, a reminder that God loves us and calls us out into the world to care for others less fortunate. It is the perfect opportunity to advance the Water for the World Act, and to remind the world that the United States is still a leader in helping to improve the lives of others.
Dr. Mark Hartman is lead pastor at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land. He has served the Houston community for more than 10 years and is a board member of Living Water International, a Houston-based international aid organization that provides clean drinking water to people in developing countries.