Last updated on: December 6, 2019 at 12:46 pm By GFA Staff Writer
A BioSand water filter provides a single family in Asia with clean, healthy drinking water. They simply pour dirty water into the top, and the water is cleansed inside through the sand, gravel and biofilter layers. Dirty water comes out 98% pure and free of contaminants.
“Water is life, and clean water is health. “— Audrey Hepburn
Clean, pure water. It really is the stuff of life. And it’s such a non-issue in the Western world. When we need a drink, we turn on the tap. But for millions of men, women and children living in places across Asia and Africa, access to clean water is more than just a challenge; for many, it doesn’t exist.
Imagine for a moment preparing a simple meal for yourself or your children. You’ve probably made breakfast thousands of times. Now imagine that the only available water is contaminated with bacteria, heavy metals and even feces. Imagine what it’s like to feel thirsty or hungry and have no other option. Can you?
That’s not the setting for a dramatic movie script; it’s real life. And it’s why Gospel for Asia (GFA) strives every day to help families in Asia gain access to clean, healthy water, through solutions like BioSand water filters. They are simple, effective and can change a family’s life.
The Need for Clean Water Can’t be Overstated
Throughout many parts of Asia, clean water is either unavailable or it’s challenging to access. The numbers are staggering. Some estimates place surface-water contamination levels at 80 percent or higher in Asia. According to a 2016 Water Aid report, over 75 million people in one Asian nation have no access to clean water. That’s the highest concentration in the world. As surface-water contamination increases, groundwater reserves decline. More and more families either use polluted water or are forced to buy clean water elsewhere, a trend that’s only predicted to grow. Prices for clean water can be as high as 20 percent of a poor family’s income.
Sadly, contaminated water leads to illness and even death. Hundreds of thousands of Asian children die each year from diseases contracted by drinking and using contaminated water. That’s hundreds of precious children’s lives lost to preventable diseases every single day. Adults are not immune to waterborne disease either.
BioSand Water Filters Bring About Miraculous Changes
“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”— Matthew 10:42
Sometimes, a simple kindness and a straightforward solution are life-altering in the best of ways. That’s the case with BioSand water filters. They need no electricity, no complex construction and no special tools or maintenance. Once set up and in operation, a family can turn life-threatening, contaminated water into clean drinking water for years.
These filters are often made from concrete with defined layers of washed gravel and sand inside, although some filters have a plastic or non-toxic housing. Once a biofilm layer develops and matures inside the filter, which takes up to four weeks, they continually eliminate an incredible amount of dangerous pathogens and solids. They also remove odors and colors, making water look and taste fresh, along with truly being safe to drink.
In January, GFA-supported workers visited one poor family who had received a BioSand water filter for their household. The funds to provide it were given by a generous donor, and the construction provided by the local Believers’ Eastern Church. This family below now experiences God’s love and tender compassion each day through the gift of healthy water.
A simple BioSand water filter, which costs just $30 to provide, gave this poor family in Asia access to pure, clean drinking water for many years to come. This keeps them from getting sick or ill from contaminated water sources.
Sadly, the wife and mother of this family had already fallen ill. She is not pictured above, as she was away from home being treated for her illness at the time of the visit.
“I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence.” — Psalm 140:12-13
God’s love is boundless. He dries the tears of the weary and lifts up the brokenhearted. He cares about His children, even (perhaps especially) those who suffer most. Through the works of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers who share God’s love by providing cups of clean water, fewer families are losing their children to preventable diseases. Fewer families suffer the heartbreak of debilitating or incurable illness. The most basic human need—clean water—is becoming attainable, even to the poorest of the poor, whom God loves just as much as us in the West.
Will you help us provide BioSand Water Filters to families in Asia without access to clean, drinking water?
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WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (previously Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, discussing GFA World missionaries meet the need for pure water, fighting waterborne diseases, with BioSand Water Filters.
Families in Pastor Rainart’s area, including Kaigan’s, faced a similar situation. There was a pump well near Kaigan’s house, but it was improperly drilled. As a result, mud entered the well during the rainy seasons, contaminating the water and drastically increasing the risk of infection from disease. Kaigan noted his children would fall ill almost every week, complaining of stomach pains, a tell-tale symptom of dysentery.
The well wasn’t safe to drink from, period. But it was the only source of water available to them.
Within the communities they serve, GFA missionaries like Pastors Gaige and Rainart step up to identify the most pressing needs. But it’s because of gifts from our donors that GFA missionaries can meet these critical needs and demonstrate Christ’s tangible love to men and women in deprivation.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Learn more about the GFA World national missionaries who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
WILLS POINT, TX — Mission agencyGFA World (Gospel for Asia) now provides a water lifeline to nearly 40 million desperate people – a number roughly equal to the entire population of California.
Globally, 663 million people lack clean water. Every year, around 500,000 people — including 360,000 children under the age of five — die from waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery and typhoid.
“These are overwhelming numbers,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan, also known as Metropolitan Yohan. “The good news is we can help save many precious lives, one community at a time.”
Texas-based GFA World has installed more than 40,000 wells — called “Jesus Wells” — and 95,000 BioSand water filters, providing safe drinking water to more than 39 million highly vulnerable people in Asia.
‘JESUS WELL’ PROJECT ENDS VILLAGE ‘WATER WOES’: Texas-based mission agency GFA World (http://www.gospelforasia.net) teamed up with a village church in Nepal to dig a “Jesus Well.” The resulting “miracle” means villagers no longer have to drink from contaminated ponds. Across Asia, GFA World’s water projects serve nearly 40 million people.
Altercations Over Water
In one village in Nepal, quarrels and fights sometimes erupted as villagers waited in line for up to two hours to fill their jars at a community water pipe, reduced to a trickle by months of drought.
Aware of their plight, GFA World came alongside the local church to help make a new well a reality. At first, the believers in this mountainside village began digging by hand, but – when they hit solid rock – their task seemed hopeless. A crew with drilling machines arrived to help, but even they soon gave up.
“The pastor had been praying for two years for God to solve the water problem in the community,” Yohannan said. “[The church members] continued to dig manually, and God did a miracle. Breaking through rock at 33-feet deep, they reached a spring.”
Astonished village leaders said, “This is a great service the church has done… you have become a blessing for us.”
Speaking of the community impact, Yohannan said, “Children won’t miss school anymore because of water-hauling duties, and people no longer get sick from drinking contaminated water from dirty ponds and mudholes.”
“Jesus Wells transform entire communities, Yohannan said, showing people “God really cares about them and answers their prayers.”
Give Clean Water, Fresh Hope! — You can help change tragic outcomes caused by water scarcity and waterborne disease. Help provide villages and families with clean, safe drinking water and give them fresh hope.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World), founded by KP Yohannan issued the second part of a Special Report update authored by Palmer Holt of InChrist Communications on solving the world water crisis, lasting solutions and major initiatives to defeat the age-old problem.
Gospel for Asia’s clean water ministry is delivering pure drinking water to families all across South Asia through Jesus Wells, which are open to anyone in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds. In this regard, Jesus Wells typically meet the urgent needs of poor families for clean water, rescuing their families from waterborne diseases, poverty and even death.
Tapping Into the World’s Largest Reservoir
In his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes a crew of thirsty sailors stranded on the ocean. One of them utters these familiar lines:
Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.
That’s an apt description of our world, in which people are desperate for water even though it covers 71 percent of the earth’s surface. Of course, most of it is in the oceans and not drinkable. Indeed, 97.5 percent of the earth’s water is saltwater. A person who drinks too much of it will die—ironically—of dehydration.
Granot desalination plant, Israel: Daslination here works by pushing saltwater into membranes containing microscopic pores. Photo by Mekorot Water Company (via IrishTimes.com)
However, visionaries have long hoped that someday we could harness the oceans’ vast water reserves for human use. That dream began to come true in 1881, when the first commercial desalination plant opened on the Mediterranean island of Malta. As methods improved during the 20th century, more plants opened in Europe, the United States and, especially, the Middle East. The desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, oil-rich but water-poor, now produces more desalinated water than any other country. The nearby United Arab Emirates derives all of its drinking water from desalination. These countries are trading what they have—oil wealth—for what they desperately need—water. But in most of the world, the process has remained too costly to be a viable option.
A dramatic change occurred in 2005 when Israel opened its mega-capacity desalination plant in the coastal city of Ashkelon. This landmark achievement drastically lowered the cost of desalination while providing 13 percent of the country’s consumer water demand. Before, the country’s main sources of fresh water had been the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River that flows from it. But drought and overuse had depleted both resources to dangerously low levels. Israel had a strong motivation to find new, reliable sources of usable water. The Mediterranean Sea on its western border made desalination an obvious alternative.
After the success of the Ashkelon project, Israel launched another plant a few miles up the coast in Hadera in 2009. That was followed by the Sorek plant in 2013, which is currently the world’s largest desalination plant. Israel now uses desalinated water for more than half of its needs. The cost of that water—which had always been the major drawback of desalination—is now even lower. At about $30 per month per household, Israelis pay less for their water than many people in other developed countries.
The Ashkelon desalination facility along the Mediterranean Sea in Israel, is one of the largest in the world, and is one of five plants providing Israelis with 65 percent of their drinking water.Photo by IDE Technologies Ltd., (via TimesofIstrael.com)
Filters Make Contaminated Water Safe
In much of the world, people rely on surface water for drinking and washing. But that water often contains dangerous toxins or pathogens. In those cases, people face the difficult choice of choosing between drinking tainted water and going thirsty.
One of the most common—and deadly—symptoms of waterborne diseases is diarrhea. It kills millions of people every year, most of them in Africa and South Asia. Children, being especially vulnerable, suffer the worst. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2,195 children die of diarrheal diseases every day. Other waterborne illnesses include polio, tetanus, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis A.
Waterborne illnesses are prevalent in Asia, but when dirty water is cleaned and purified through BioSand water filters, diseases can be prevented.
The tragedy is that such diseases can be easy to prevent. One study showed that the incidence of diarrhea can be reduced by 40 percent if people simply wash their hands regularly with soap.
Another effective weapon against disease is amazingly simple and affordable: a BioSand water filter, which costs just $30 and is small and portable enough to fit in any home. It removes most of the contaminants in water, making it 98 percent pure. With just one BioSand water filter, an entire family can enjoy clean water for as long as 20 years. Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been partnering to provide BioSand water filters to Asian families since 2008, distributing more than 73,500 so far. And the results have been dramatic.
Nirmala’s story is typical and illustrates the impact these simple devices can make. She lives in a small Asian village where the only water source is a small polluted pond.
“Since we drank from the pond on a daily basis,” Nirmala says, “we were frequently contracting diseases and stomach problems. Our symptoms ranged from headaches to skin problems to internal pain. It was a very painful and discouraging way to live.”
Then, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported worker visited Nirmala’s village and told her about the difference a BioSand water filter could make.
“A team soon came and installed a filter in my home,” she says. “My family and I were so happy to receive such an amazing gift.”
Now, health has returned to Nirmala’s family. And an entire village is being transformed.
No electricity or batteries are needed for a BioSand water filter like this one. Through natural ways of killing harmful bacteria, these effective filters turn dirty water sources into pure, fresh drinking water. Women like these, and their children and families, who were sick and even dying from waterborne illnesses are now regaining their strength, health and well-being through the clean water they are able to drink from BioSand filters.
A Better Future is Possible
These accounts show what is possible when goodwill and knowledge combine. But they also remind us that the world water crisis is far from being solved.
Water from Jesus Wells is so safe and tasty, this girl’s family will safely use it for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing utensils, doing laundry and more.
The United Nations has described concrete objectives for defeating the world’s water problems in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Among other things, the participating member states committed to “end poverty in all its forms” and “shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path.” But so far, the world is “off track” in achieving those objectives, according to the UN’s Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation. The report states that, to be more effective, efforts must address issues of “weak funding, planning, capacity and governance of water and sanitation services as a top priority.”
But as the villagers depicted in this article demonstrate, the best solutions don’t always come from top-down efforts imposed from outside. Rather, they arise from cooperative efforts that involve local residents in the construction, maintenance and acceptance of their own sustainable solutions. Relief agencies that respect the dignity and freedom of the people they serve offer the best hope for success.
If you’d like to make a personal impact on the world water crisis, consider giving a needy family a simple BioSand water filter. For only $30, Gospel for Asia’s field partners can manufacture and distribute one of these effective filters to a water-compromised family in Asia and provide them with clean, safe water. Other NGOs that are making a difference in regard to the world water crisis include water.org, which makes microloans to families to install clean water solutions in their homes, and Charity: Water, which partners with organizations worldwide to provide safe water solutions to the 10 percent of the world’s population that lacks access to clean water.
Together, we can end the world’s water crisis.
Men like these help build BioSand water filters for countless families in Asia. They start by pouring wet cement into these metal molds and go from there. These filters require no electricity to use, yet they make water almost as pure as bottled water!
This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org. We also have a growing list of Clean Water FAQs that address various clean water concerns around the globe.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, discussing how through GFA World gift distribution, a water filter was able to meet a family’s needs and ignite a father’s faith.
With a BioSand water filter like this one, Kadience (not pictured) and her family are able to have clean water and experience God’s love for them.
A wave of embarrassment crashed over Kadience as she handed Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Laszlo the murky glass of water. Kadience could barely see through it. Shocked by the quality of the water, Pastor Laszlo glanced up at Kadience.
“Is there not a bore well from where you can get good water?” he asked.
Kadience looked at her husband, who reflected her embarrassment.
“We have only one hand pump fixed in a public place, but the water is not clean,” they replied.
As difficult as it may be to imagine yourself in Kadience’s position, her situation is not uncommon. In South Asia, it is estimated that 68 to 84 percent of water sources are contaminated, resulting in more than 134 million people lacking access to clean water.[1] For these individuals and families like Kadience’s, the chance for clean water is life-changing.
A Hardworking Family
Kadience lived with her husband and son in a small village in the hills of South Asia where she grew up following the traditional religion of her culture. But after God miraculously healed her son of pneumonia, Kadience put her trust in Jesus. Since then, Kadience had regularly attended her local church led by Pastor Laszlo, who had prayed diligently for her son’s healing.
Kadience and her husband worked as daily laborers, constructing mud houses. Despite the income they generated from working, the family struggled to access clean water, putting them at high risk for a host of waterborne diseases.
Clean Water at Last
After seeing the family’s dire need for clean water, Pastor Laszlo shared his concerns with church leaders and was able to give Kadience and her family a BioSand water filter. The family was overjoyed to receive the water filter! They immediately began using it and enjoying their clean water with gratitude.
“I am grateful to God, who provided us with a good water filter,” Kadience said. “We do have a small hand pump in our village. We are collecting water from there and putting it into the BioSand water filter. Through this filter, now we are getting clean and pure water.”
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Learn more about the GFA World national missionaries who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this second part of a special report on fresh water: an increasingly scarce resource more vital than oil or gold.
These women in Assam have to visit the river several times daily to fetch water that is dirty, muddy and becoming increasingly scarce.
Watergen’s president, Michael Mirilashvili, told the BBC that its system alleviates the need to build water transportation systems, dispelling worries about heavy metals in pipes, cleaning contaminated groundwater, or polluting the planet with plastic bottles.[22]
“A study conducted by scientists from Israel’s Tel Aviv University found that even in urban areas … it is possible to extract drinking water to a standard set by the World Health Organization,” wrote business reporter Natalie Lisbona. “In other words, clean water can be converted from air that is dirty or polluted.”[23]
Watergen’s isn’t the only such technology being developed. A story by science journalist Duane Chavez outlined two others.
The first is a system proposed by engineers from the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Wisconsin. It uses carbon paper evaporators and condensers that emit more energy than they absorb, reducing the temperature below the dew point to achieve vapor condensation.
The other is a passive system developed by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley. It extracts water from dry air by consuming solar energy, based on a new type of porous material called Metal-Organic Frameworks.[24]
Other methods to address freshwater scarcity include the following:
Scientists from the UK’s University of Manchester are working on a desalination alternative—a graphite oxide sieve that retains salt and only allows water to pass through. In 2019, the university’s National Graphene Institute began collaborating with a portable water filtration company to develop new water purification devices based on this technology.[25]
LifeStraw is a plastic tube nearly nine inches long and about an inch wide that has a filtration system to remove protozoa, bacteria and other harmful materials from water. One unit can provide personal water filtration for up to three years. The technology is marketed in bottle format as well as in larger systems and has been used in places like Haiti, Rwanda and Pakistan.[26]
A “Safe Water Book” developed by a chemist and her husband contains tear-out pages that are water filters and can provide germ-free water for four years. Their company, Folia Water, has tested the product in Africa, Asia and Latin America and begun distribution in Bangladesh. A similar product, “The Drinkable Book,” has been developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.[27]
Associate Professor Haolan Xu leads a team of researchers at the University of South Australia who have developed a device to help with water purification. Photo by University of South Australia
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of South Australia have refined a technique to derive fresh water from sea water, brackish water or contaminated water through solar evaporation. The device includes a photothermal structure that sits on the surface of a water source and converts sunlight to heat, rapidly evaporating the uppermost portion of the liquid.[28]
“We have developed a technique that not only prevents any loss of solar energy, but actually draws additional energy from the bulk water and surrounding environment,” said Haolan Xu, the associate professor who leads the team. “[That means] the system operates at 100 percent efficiency for the solar input and draws up to another 170 percent energy from the water and environment.”[29]
Assam: The only water available in this rural village has a very bad odor and taste. If stored in a container, the color of the water changes and a layer of chemicals can be seen. The water has all been contaminated by arsenic, but is being ingested by the entire community.
Sometimes the solutions aren’t as dazzling but still matter, as demonstrated in San Antonio. The southern Texas city found itself in a legal battle 31 years ago over arguments it pumped too much water from the Edwards Aquifer, a major groundwater source. The Sierra Club’s victory in the case forced San Antonio to limit withdrawals.[30]
Conservation efforts that followed included better irrigation and landscaping, installation of water flow sensors, and rebates to residents who install pool filters or convert grass into patios. Despite 80% growth in their population since 1991, San Antonio has decreased per-person water use by 20%.[31]
Cape Town, South Africa, also had to reduce water consumption after nearly running dry in 2018. Three years later, “I definitely think that there has been a permanent behavior shift,” said Limberg, a local appointed official and a mayoral committee member for waste and water in Cape Town . “There’s definitely been a greater awareness to conserve water, and of how incredibly finite this resource is, and how vulnerable we are if we face a shortage of water.”[32]
Enhanced water meters also help. WaterOn, a device produced by India-based Smarter Homes, is a metering and leakage prevention system. In 2019 it saved 40,000 apartment households an average of 35 percent of their water consumption. In one region it saves millions of gallons of water each month.[33]
Low-tech Tools Can Also Be Economical Solutions
Then there are more basic solutions that help numerous people, like drilling wells in areas that lack access to fresh water. This video below shares the story of one village in Nepal that benefitted from this approach provided by their local church.
Nepal: Getting fresh water was a constant time-consuming challenge for this entire village until the local church installed a Jesus Well which resolved the water shortage and benefitted their entire community.
This Jesus Well in Assam has become very useful to the villagers who did not have clean drinking water, especially during rainy season. They now use the water for drinking, cooking, washing clothes, bathing, and even water their cattle with it.
For just over two decades, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) has helped drill Jesus Wells in Asia. These wells provide clean water at a cost of less than five dollars per person.[34] GFA also distributes BioSand water filters, devices that use concrete, different types of sand and gravel to remove impurities, providing water for drinking and cooking that is 98 percent pure.[35]
The value such low-tech solutions provide is evident in the numbers: it costs about $1,400 to drill a Jesus Well, which may provide clean water for up to 300 people per day for 10 to 20 years. While a BioSand water filter only supplies water to one family at a cost of $30 per unit, it offers a readily available clean drinking source for a similar five-dollar figure.
Over the years, more than 38 million people in Asia have received safe drinking water through GFA World’s clean water initiatives. In addition to providing water wells and filters, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) conducts free medical camps that offer treatment for such water-linked ailments as diarrhea—the most serious illness children face worldwide.
If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to help give clean water to a needy village in Asia, then make a generous one time or monthly gift toward Jesus Wells and Water Filters.
About GFA World
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
Read the rest of this GFA World Special Report: Fresh Water: An Increasingly Scarce Resource More Vital than Oil or Gold—Part 1
Last updated on: February 28, 2023 at 9:53 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this first part of a special report on fresh water: an increasingly scarce resource more vital than oil or gold.
Increasing demand on rivers, lakes and streams, compounded by changing weather patterns, population growth and economic development, is leaving us in a world where many people are struggling to find enough fresh water to survive. (I’ll develop this topic below, to add to our previous essays on water stress globally, solutions to the world water crisis, and those that are dying of thirst.)
Nepal: As the water levels underground started shrinking, people in this remote Nepali village had to resort to collecting water from small puddles in the forest for drinking. This boy was asked by his parents, who were working in the field, to fetch water from one of these puddles, but the water from these open areas is often full of germs and bacteria as animals also use them.
Water is a resource that is becoming more precious than gold, according to various headlines from around the world.[1][2] One news story included a somber prediction by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that future climate instability will create serious water shortages.[3]
“There is already strong evidence that we are seeing such changes,” said Professor Mike Meredith, a lead author for IPCC and scientist at the British Antarctic Survey. “In some dry regions, droughts will become worse and long lasting. Such risks are compounded by knock-on consequences, such as greater risk of wildfires, [which] we are already seeing.”[5]
Just after the report’s release, the Cable News Network (CNN) reported that Middle Eastern countries like Iran, Iraq and Jordan are pumping vast amounts of water from the ground for irrigation to improve food self-sufficiency. Charles Iceland, global director of water at the World Resources Institute, told the network that while this can compensate for a decrease in rainfall, it also results in falling groundwater levels.[6]
The four-person CNN team report noted areas around the globe where that’s happening, like in Iran, where a vast network of dams sustains an agricultural sector that drinks up about 90% of the water the country uses. “Both declining rainfall and increasing demand in these countries are causing many rivers, lakes, and wetlands to dry up,” Iceland told CNN. “The consequences of water becoming scarcer are dire: Areas could become uninhabitable; tensions over how to share and manage water resources like rivers and lakes could worsen; more political violence could erupt.”[7]
Western US: In the 1980s the waters of Lake Mead flowed rapidly over the Hoover Dam spillway, but after many years of drought along the Colorado River, the water level has dropped dramatically. Photo by LasVegasNevada.gov
The situation threatens wealthier countries, too. TheNew York Times reported larger future cuts in water consumption are likely for 40 million people in the West who rely on rivers. For the first time ever, last August, the U.S. federal government declared a water shortage at Nevada’s Lake Mead, a main reservoir for the Colorado River. Initially, that will mostly affect farmers in Arizona. In addition to seven U.S. states, two in Mexico draw water from the Colorado. Besides providing drinking water, it irrigates desert crops and generates hydroelectric power. Scientists say the only way to alleviate the problem is to reduce demand.[8]
“As this inexorable-seeming decline in the supply continues, the shortages that we’re beginning to see implemented are only going to increase,” said Jennifer Pitt, who directs the Colorado River program at the National Audubon Society. “Once we’re on that train, it’s not clear where it stops.”[9]
Water is a resource that is becoming more precious than gold, oil or gas, according to various headlines from around the world. But the consequences of water becoming scarcer are dire — as areas become uninhabitable, tensions worsen and violence could erupt.
Weeks before this news, analysts at the London-based financial giant Barclays issued a research note that identified water scarcity as the most important environmental concern for global consumer staples, affecting everything from food and beverages to agriculture and tobacco.[10] Circle of Blue reported that major companies are increasingly concerned about water’s availability, with the average price between 2010 and 2019 increasing by 60 percent in the 30 largest U.S. cities.[11]
Beth Burks, director of sustainable finance at S&P Global Ratings, told CNBC, “Water scarcity is really important because when it runs out you have really serious problems.”[12]
India: During the months of April and May this area in Maharashtra and the villages around it face drought and a severe shortage of fresh water. The rivers, canals, and wells completely dry up, causing great difficulties for people and their animals.
Fresh Water Scarcity – the “Invisible” Hand Behind Many Global Crises
Then there are millions more who devote many waking hours to obtaining it. According to the non-governmental organization H2O for Life, women and children in many communities spend up to 60% of each day collecting water.
Assam: Before a Jesus Well was installed in her village, this 30 year old mother of four had to make the fifteen minute walk from her home to the closest water source. She would fetch water four-five times in a day, carrying the heavy load on her head. This water was contaminated though, and the family would suffer from skin diseases and other health issues like diarrhea, typhoid, stomach problems, etc.
The report for the CFR said water scarcity is usually divided into two categories: 1) Physical scarcity related to ecological conditions and 2) Economic scarcity because of inadequate infrastructure.[17]
“The two frequently come together to cause water stress,” wrote Claire Felter and Kali Robinson in their report entitled: “Water Stress: A Global Problem That’s Getting Worse.” “For instance, a stressed area can have both a shortage of rainfall as well as a lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities. Experts say that when there are significant natural causes for a region’s water stress, human factors are often central to the problem.”[18]
Shaz Memon (centre), founder of Wells on Wheels. Photo by Wells on Wheels
Water scarcity is the “invisible” hand behind many humanitarian crises, said Shaz Memon, a British entrepreneur and founder of the charity Wells on Wheels. In a recent commentary, he named Yemen as one of the world’s most water-scarce countries, a condition leading to social and political upheaval. For example, he notes that in Nigeria the Boko Haram insurgency in 2010 arose because of a demand for clean drinking water. Drought and water scarcity was also a pivotal factor behind Syria’s civil war as well, according to Memon.
“Water is a precious, life-giving commodity; it becomes more scarce because it isn’t treated as such,” Memon wrote. “Unlike gold, oil or gas, it is not priced in relation to its global scarcity. … However, there are some who understand water’s status as a valuable commodity. Goldman Sachs has said water could be the ‘petroleum of the 21st century.’”[19]
Such observations underscore the significance of the United Nations’ World Water Day, set for March 22 with the theme ‟Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible.” The UN calls groundwater a vital resource that provides almost half of all drinking water worldwide, sustains ecosystems, maintains the baseflow of rivers, and prevents land subsidence and seawater intrusion.[20]
If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to help give clean water to a needy village in Asia, then make a generous one time or monthly gift toward Jesus Wells and Water Filters.
About GFA World
GFA World (www.gfa.org) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
Read the rest of this GFA World Special Report: Fresh Water: An Increasingly Scarce Resource More Vital than Oil or Gold—Part 2
Last updated on: February 28, 2023 at 9:55 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, reveals a troubling new report for World Water Day on March 22 — a growing shortage and scarcity of the planet’s most “precious” resource, water, could lead to “dire consequences” worldwide — including the Western U.S. — as hot, arid regions get thirstier.
WORLD ON BRINK OF ‘DIRE’ WATER SHORTAGE: Growing scarcity of the planet’s most “precious” resource could lead to “dire consequences” worldwide — including the Western U.S. — as hot, arid regions get thirstier, a troubling new report for World Water Day on March 22 reveals. The report, Water: An Increasingly Scarce Resource That Is Precious As Gold, from GFA World says global demand is expected to surge more than 50% in the next 20 years.
Surging global population, urban development and rising temperatures could leave billions worldwide struggling to find enough water to drink within the next two decades, according to the report Water: An Increasingly Scarce Resource That Is Precious As Gold.
“The consequences are dire,” says the report by global humanitarian agency GFA World. “Areas could become uninhabitable; tensions over how to share and manage water resources like rivers and lakes could worsen; more political violence could erupt.”
Water shortages contributed to both the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and the civil war in Syria, the report says, noting: “Water scarcity is the ‘invisible’ hand behind many humanitarian crises.”
Citing a New York Times article, the report says 40 million people living in 7 states in the Western U.S. who rely on water from the Colorado River could face severe shortages in coming years.
‘Runaway’ Crisis
In the next 20 years, demand for water is expected to surge more than 50%. “Once we’re on that train, it’s not clear where it stops,” the report quotes Jennifer Pitt, director of the Colorado River program at the National Audubon Society, as saying.
The looming water crisis could also hugely impact agricultural output, including staple crops, meaning people could struggle to find food and beverages in the stores, according to London-based financial giant Barclays.
Humanitarian agencies such as Gospel for Asia (GFA World) are drilling thousands of deep-water wells, supplying reliable, clean drinking water for millions in remote places where children often suffer and die from waterborne parasites and diseases like diarrhea, typhoid and cholera.
“This desperate situation is especially acute in Asia, where millions of families get their drinking water from the only source available to them — often a dirty river or stagnant pond,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder K.P. Yohannan.
“Just as Jesus offered people ‘living water,’ we’re striving to do the same as an expression of God’s care for them,” Yohannan said.
About GFA World
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued the second part of a Special Report update on the ongoing global water crisis, highlighting tap water safety problems in the USA, and clean water challenges in Asia.
While the U.S. Struggles with Contaminated Tap Water,
Millions in Asia Remain Without Access to Any Clean,
Safe Drinking Water
In Asia, when water is scarce and miles must be traversed in order to attain it, then carry or haul it, pure and clean community wells become nearly miraculous when they are engineered and maintained.
One organization helping with this situation is Gospel for Asia (GFA), which has installed more than 30,000 clean water borehole wells in villages across South Asia, including 4,856 in 2019 alone. Gospel for Asia (GFA) estimates that its clean water projects, consisting of wells in communities and BioSand water filters for families, are providing clean water to more than 37.5 million people to date. Yet the need is so great, much more has to be done.
This mother in South Asia needed almost ten pots of water each day for domestic purposes, so she walked a two-mile round trip several times a day to fetch water from the only well close to this village. After school, her sons helped her fetch water too. This well was the only source of water for the entire village of more than 200 people, until a Jesus Well was built within their town.
The Impact of a “Jesus Well” on One Community
This Jesus Well is in constant use, serving up to 300 people a day!
I love the story from the Gospel for Asia archives about the life-changing impact of the “Jesus Wells” they help provide. Jesus Wells are most often sponsored by donors and installed in communities where access to clean water is difficult or non-existent.
A group of villagers huddled around a large hole, peering into the darkness. Feathers. Again. They let out a groan—not in grief over the dead chicken, although it was a loss for someone’s flock, but because it meant their well was contaminated. They gathered buckets and emptied the well late into the night. All that precious water wasted because of one little hen.
This well and a small pond had the job of providing water for this village, but they frequently failed their task. In summertime, the well and pond dried up and had to be dug deeper. When the heavy rains came, water filled the pond again, but it was accompanied by leaves, garbage and cow manure. The families in this community needed water, but using dirty water exposed them to bouts of typhoid, diarrhea and other dangerous waterborne illnesses. Something had to change—but none of them could fix their deadly problem.
In Asia, when water is scarce, and miles must be traversed in order to attain it, then carry or haul it, pure and clean community wells become nearly miraculous when they are engineered and maintained.
The community’s water crisis began changing when Aarnav, one of the young men in the village, met a GFA-supported pastor, Saadhik, serving in a nearby area. Aarnav built a strong relationship with Pastor Saadhik and joined his congregation regularly to worship the Lord. Pastor Saadhik visited Aarnav’s family frequently to encourage them in the Lord. During one of those visits, the pastor learned of the village’s extreme need for water.
Although countless other communities in Aarnav’s nation face water shortages every year, Pastor Saadhik felt a special burden for Aarnav’s village. His compassion grew into a commitment to pray for the community’s need—for several years.
Seeing the need for safe, clean water, Gospel for Asia (GFA) installed three Jesus Wells to supply this village in Asia with pure water for drinking, cleaning and washing their hands.
After four years of faithful intercession, Pastor Saadhik’s prayers were answered. Thanks to the generosity of people around the world, GFA-supported workers arranged for Aarnav’s village to receive a Jesus Well at no cost to the community. Sitting atop enclosed pipes that dive deep into the low water table, the bore well now gushes clean water all year long.
Aarnav’s community finally has the change they needed! Overjoyed, around 100 people fetch their water from the Jesus Well instead of the compromised pond or open well. It doesn’t matter how many chickens or cows gather around the Jesus Well; nothing can contaminate their water anymore.
Let’s support organizations like Gospel for Asia (GFA) that are bringing thousands of bore wells that supply life-giving water to people—water that is available in little villages and crowded slum communities and not miles down some dusty or muddy road. What a gift clean water is, and what a gift to make it available to thirsty people worldwide.
Until a Jesus Well was installed in her village, this woman in South Asia often struggled to find safe, pure drinking water. Previously, she had to walk two kilometers round trip to the river near her village, to get unsafe, dirty water.
Jesus Compares Himself to Fountains of Water
Perhaps, even more remarkable, Christ used water (let us assume it was pure, clean and healthy water) as a metaphor for His own life-giving capability.
“Jesus answered and said to her: ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life’” (John 4:13–14).
Even young children were happy to have a Jesus Well installed to get clean, safe water in their own village. Now they don’t have to walk to the distant well several times a day carrying heavy water pots.
Several summers back, my family attended the Iowa State Fair with my brother and his wife (who live in Des Moines). I’ve rarely bought tickets to popular music concerts—David and I are more the Chicago Symphony Orchestra types—but this summer, we did sit in the grandstands to hear a live concert featuring Carrie Underwood. Carrie, an avowed Christian, basically gave a gospel-music concert, with most of the people in the audience singing along to the lyrics they obviously knew by heart.
One of her songs that has stuck with me since that summer was “Something in the Water,” with water baptism being the theme:
No way out, no one to come and save me
Wasting a life that the Good Lord gave me
Then somebody said what I’m saying to you […]
They said, “Just a little faith, it’ll all get better”
So I followed that preacher man down to the river
And now I’m changed
And now I’m stronger
There must’ve been something in the water
Oh, there must’ve been something in the water
Yep, even the orchids know what kind of water they need and flourish when it is supplied. Humans are the same.
Yep, even the orchids know what kind of water they need and flourish when it is supplied. Humans are the same.
How wonderful that local churches all across Asia use clean water to meet physical need and employ the powerful life-giving metaphor for the One who supplies those He loves with everything they need spiritually. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst . . .” Believe me, there are no toxins or poisons, no arsenic or radium in this spiritual gift.
There is no lead in this Living Water. This, indeed, is the water we all need to thrive.
Last updated on: September 10, 2022 at 6:49 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued the first part of a Special Report update on the ongoing global water crisis, highlighting tap water safety problems in the USA, and clean water challenges in Asia.
In my original special report for Gospel for Asia (GFA) titled The Global Water Crisis, I explored worldwide solutions to humanity’s need for pure, safe water. This update explores tap water safety concerns in the United States and what to do about those, plus clean water solutions in Asia and practical ways you can help.
Like my orchids, people around the globe are affected adversely by the water they consume.
“The orchids are really doing well this year,” commented my husband, David, who usually doesn’t notice these sorts of things. Every year, I yield to temptation and purchase a few orchids in November around Thanksgiving time, hoping they will last through the Christmas season, maybe even longer. Greenhouses, I am told, cultivate orchids all year round.
Generally, I choose orchids with the most buds on them, calculating that there is some energy for growth hiding in these promises of future blooms. My scheme, however, generally degenerates in a wilting kind of reality. The bulbs dry up, turn to tissue-like paper and fall into the potting soil.
This year, however, I affirmed my husband’s comments with some surprise. Even in January, the orchids seemed still to be doing really well. The butterfly-like blooms were all strong, white and crisp. There was no browning around the edges nor had any died. I’d trimmed back some dried-up roots, but that wasn’t too different from previous years. What seemed to be making the difference was that I had changed the water I used to keep the plants fresh.
I had stopped using tap water and used bottles of distilled water instead. This idea was stimulated when I observed an older gentleman loading up the trunk of his car with at least 20 to 30 gallon-size bottles of water.
“You’re going to do more than just drink the water, I hope?” I said as I moved past him toward the grocery store.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “My wife is having trouble growing orchids, so we’re going to try distilled water for a while.”
“I have trouble growing orchids,” I called back. “Maybe I’ll pick up some bottles.”
Like my orchids, people around the globe are affected adversely by the water they consume. On one continent, dirty water pollutes whole communities. On another, tap water contaminates our kitchens.
Which, indeed, I did and have been using that to water my plants every week since, with the results that even my husband noticed and commented on how well the orchids were doing.
Distilled water, for those who don’t know, has been boiled in a vat, leaving impurities behind. This process removes harmful microbes (and also beneficial minerals such as calcium and magnesium). The steam eventually re-condenses, leaving a liquid behind that apparently helps my orchids thrive.
Most people will not deny this truism: Certain kinds of life thrive with certain kinds of water. Of course, this applies to human well-being as well as to plant health.
Like my orchids, people around the globe are affected adversely by the water they consume. On one continent, dirty water pollutes whole communities. On another, tap water contaminates our kitchens.
Photo left: Clean water from the local Jesus Well is used for drinking, cooking and hand washing, while water from other local wells is used for washing vessels, clothes or bathing. || Photo right: A mother in South Asia carries her son and a pail of fresh, clean drinking water form the local Jesus Well in town.
Despite the Safe Drinking Water Act,
3,000 Areas in the U.S. Have Lead-Contaminated Water
On August 6, 1996, President Clinton signed amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act to implement comprehensive public health protection from the source to the tap. Photo by US Environmental Protection Agency
To ensure water safety, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was originally passed by the U.S. Congress in 1974 to protect public health by establishing regulations about drinking water. According to a paper issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, “The law was amended in 1986 and 1996 and requires many actions to protect drinking water and its sources—rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells. … SDWA authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water.”
Unfortunately, today, much of the water supply in the United States, despite the SDWA, is at risk. The Environmental Protection Agency urges that drinking water safety cannot be taken for granted: “There are a number of threats to drinking water: improperly disposed of chemicals, animal wastes, pesticides, human threats, wastes injected underground, and naturally occurring substances can all contaminate drinking water. Likewise, drinking water that is not properly treated or disinfected, or which travels through an improperly maintained distribution system, may also pose a health risk.”
Some 3,000 areas of the United States recently recorded
lead-poisoning rates at least double to those in Flint
during the peak of that city’s contamination crisis.
The most notable example of U.S. water source contamination, which captured the attention of much of the nation, was from Flint, Michigan, where analysis revealed that the town’s drinking water was lead-contaminated and was poisoning much of the citizenry of that community. However, even more shocking was the discovery that Reuters, the international news agency, reported: “Nearly 3,000 areas [of the country had] recently recorded lead-poisoning rates at least double those in Flint during the peak of that city’s contamination crisis. And more than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher.”
Insightful pictures examining Flint’s drinking water pipes, showing different kinds of iron corrosion and rust. Photo by Min Tang and Kelsey Pieper
How does lead poison the human body? The World Health Organization (WHO) released a paper titled “Lead poisoning and health,” which listed the key facts:
Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children.
Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time. Human exposure is usually assessed through the measurement of lead in blood.
Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus.
There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.
Lead exposure is preventable.
The symptoms of lead poisoning are varied and alarming as WHO warns. These include behavioral changes because brain development is affected: reduced attention span, increased antisocial incidents and failing educational achievement. Anemia, hyperactivity, toxicity to the reproductive organs, blood-pressure-level impacts and renal impairment are some of the signs of lead exposure. Experts believe neurological and behavioral effects are irreversible.
Consequently, not only is the former statement a truism—certain kinds of life thrive with certain kinds of water—but we can logically agree with the experts that polluted water is not the optimum nutrient for mankind. Poisoned water creates life-diminishing conditions for most and particularly for the developing brains and neurological systems of the young.
A Jesus Well installed in South Asia has become a blessing for the local residents. Not many clean water wells are available in rural villages and people typically have to fetch water from sources far away or consume muddy water nearby.
Reasons for Unsafe Water Supplies in the United States
Effective lead‐and‐copper sampling plans allow water utilities to make critical corrosion‐control and water quality improvement decisions to protect public health. Photo by American Water Works Association
If there is no acceptable level of lead in drinking water, the question must be posed: Why are so many municipalities, homeowners and schools still finding lead in their systems today?
An article by Rachel Layne in MoneyWatch concludes: “One reason may be aging infrastructure and the cost to replace old water pipes and lead solder used in household plumbing. Drinking water is delivered via 1 million miles of pipes across the U.S., much of them laid in the early- to mid-20th century with a lifespan of 75 to 100 years.”
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that those pipes are being replaced at an average rate of 0.5 percent a year.
“At that pace,” Layne notes, “it would take roughly two centuries to renew the whole system at a cost of around $1 trillion, according to one estimate by the American Water Works Association.”
That finding highlights “how six decades of industrial dumping, farming pollution and water plant and distribution pipe deterioration have taken a toll on local water systems.” According to this report, many local water-treatment plants are not equipped or can’t afford to strain out contaminants. In addition, much of the corroding water-distribution systems are susceptible to lead contamination, leaks in the lines, and consequent bacterial growth due to the instability of this aging infrastructure.
What Can One Concerned Citizen Do?
So, what is to be done? At this point, it behooves a water-drinking citizenry to act responsibly.
My husband and I live in an unincorporated area of a western Chicago suburb, and we have lived here for more than 40 years. Our water is pumped from our own well, which I have assumed to be “safe” water. However, after research conducted for this article, I realized I was relying too much on what might turn out to be unfounded assumptions, so I ordered a complete water-testing kit. When the kit comes, we can test our own water from the tap to determine what minerals exist in this liquid and whether or not there are contaminants. Then we will make plans—perhaps to install filters on certain faucets. If needed, that will require additional Internet research.
A citizen, concerned about his or her municipality’s water supply, can look up reports online as to the status of local sources. The mayor’s office of our little town of 27,000 has published a comprehensive “state of the water” report, which was mailed to all the addresses in our community; that report is also published on the Internet and identifies any possible trouble spots or any deep water reservoirs that may be problematic. If there are problems with our local water supply, then I have at least informed myself as to their existence. Our mayor also invites citizens who have questions, concerns or suggestions to meet with him once a month; questions about the safety of water supplies can be brought up in such a forum.
The point of this is:
Do not remain ignorant about your community’s water supplies, which most of us drink so casually without considering the quality of its content. (Remember my orchids.)
In Waukesha, Wisconsin, 18 miles west of Milwaukee, decades of radium contamination from the city’s underground aquifer prompted officials to draft a proposal to draw water from Lake Michigan for its 71,000 residents. The Great Water Alliance, a $200-million project, is expected to be completed by 2023.
Thousands of rural towns have the most problems because communities often lack the expertise and resources to provide safe drinking water.
In several Southwestern states, 2 million people received groundwater tainted with arsenic, radium or fluoride from their local water systems, with many exposed to these chemicals for years before hundreds of small, low-income communities could afford to filter them out. Some still haven’t cleaned up their water.
Ever wondered what’s causing those puzzling health problems—headaches, stomach troubles, your kids’ irascibility and/or inability to pay attention in class? Maybe there’s something in the water. Check it out.
Healthy water—clear, clean and pure—is one of the great gifts of the Creator to the inhabitants of earth. However, as part of our God-given mandate as caretakers of this remarkable planet, we need to be responsible to guard our water sources, its supply and delivery systems, and to not take for granted what pumps from our wells or flows from our kitchen taps. We have all too often—I certainly am a guilty party—been sloppy stewards of our creation.
Despite the safe water, we assume, we are drinking, we need to be responsible and check out municipal reports or order water-testing kits to make sure. The Environmental Protection Agency has a paper online titled “Ground Water Rule: A Quick Reference Guide” (it’s a dense and comprehensive two pages of analytics, but helpful). If you feel better after changing the water you’ve been drinking, then drink more of the new supply. Health gurus insist that hydrating our bodies is a key principle to achieving better health and more productive daily function.
Nirmala’s story is typical and illustrates the impact these simple devices can make. She lives in a small Asian village where the only water source is a small polluted pond.
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