Give thanks for safe water in Haiti

In a world where 663 million people live without access to safe water, join us in celebrating with the community of Sarazin, Haiti, who now have two safe water sources thanks to the answered prayers of the church.*

Before the intervention, the community would walk a mile each way to collect water. The fountain, which served more than 24,000 people was often crowded and would completely dry up during times of drought. This left residents no choice but to use unsafe water from rivers, borehole wells or hand-dug-wells.

The local church in Sarazin had been faithfully praying for a solution to the water problem. In 2014 the first answer came when church started a partnership with Compassion. To begin with the staff used iodine tablets provided by Compassion to purify the water at the project, however, when the children returned home they were once again at risk from contaminated water.

Breakthrough came in 2016 when a Compassion RESPOND Initiative funded a reverse-osmosis water fountain for the local church and an additional treated water fountain in the community.

As Fritzner, the Compassion project director explains: “I believe that it was God who spoke to the heart of Compassion’s leaders to make the decision of putting this purified water system here for the children in the project and also the water station in the community. Making the decision to put these water fountains in the community was significant, because children can now drink clean water both at the project and at home. They can learn how to practice hygiene principles, and the risk of contracting waterborne diseases is highly reduced. It’s a blessing for us.”

The new water fountains haven’t just made a difference to the children, as Nicolas Isabelle, a mum in the community testifies: “Having this water station here is such a relief for me. I used to walk a long distance to gather my drinking water and to do laundry for my family. It was a burden for me to carry the water and the wet clothes. But thanks to this water station, I don’t need to do that anymore. Thanks to Compassion, I can drink portable water now.”

Join us in giving thanks to God for the provision of safe water for Compassion-supported children and the community of Sarazin. Like the local church in Sarazin, lift up a prayer for all those worldwide who don’t currently have access to safe drinking water.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14

_{*WHO, 2015}