According to the World Health Organization, over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
A lack of access to clean water keeps children sick, prevents them from going to school, places them at risk of exploitation and robs them of their God-given dignity.
Compassion fights back against the global water crisis by providing WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene) interventions to communities in need and delivering critical care to children living in poverty.
Bayo, a teen boy living in Uganda, loves to fetch water. The feeling of the crisp stream splashing against his arms is a welcome relief from the African heat. With each turn of the water spout, he’s reminded of when clean water was an impossibility for him and his family. And as he carries his overflowing buckets back home, he smiles.
How Many People Don’t Have Access to Clean Water?
Bayo and his loved ones were once living without access to safe, clean water. Sadly, this is a current reality for so many around the world.
According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 4 people — a staggering 2.1 billion — don’t have access to safe drinking water. Out of those 2.1 billion, 106 million have no choice but to collect water from rivers, lakes and ponds.
Other reports reveal that the global water crisis affects even more lives than this. According to UNICEF, 4 billion people, or almost two-thirds of the world’s population, experience severe water scarcity for at least one month every single year.
By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress. — UNICEF
While the water crisis touches all continents and regions in some way, Sub-Saharan Africa is the hardest hit, with millions going without safe water every single day.
How Does the Water Crisis Affect Children?
In impoverished communities, it’s common for families to travel to find clean water sources. However, this is often left up to children while parents work to provide, keeping kids out of school and placing them at risk of injury or exploitation.
For other families, traveling is an impossibility. Instead, they must gather water from open sources like ponds. Before water was gifted to Bayo’s community, many children suffered severe illnesses like cholera and dysentery. And because of poverty, a lack of access to quality medical care worsened the impacts, leaving them at risk of death.
According to UNICEF, more than 1,300 children under the age of five die every day because of diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation and hygiene.
The water crisis affects more than just access to safe drinking water. For example, many children lack basic hygiene services like bathrooms, leaving them no choice but to care for their bodies wherever they can. Not only does this place their physical well-being at risk, but it also robs them of their God-given dignity.
Compassion Is Fighting Back Against the Water Crisis
While Bayo has witnessed the devastating impacts of the water crisis, he has also witnessed hope. Seeing families like Bayo’s struggling with overwhelming sickness and hopelessness, the local church stepped in.
Through the support of Compassion’s WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene) initiative, they gifted a clean water source to the community.
The Benefits of WaSH
WaSH interventions are a critical step in putting an end to the global water crisis. At Compassion, these interventions provide impoverished communities with critical infrastructure such as:
Water wells.
Filtration systems.
Rainwater harvesting systems.
Septic systems.
Toilets and washrooms.
This infrastructure ensures families have access to clean water and sanitary spaces to care for their bodies, protecting their well-being.
According to the World Health Organization, improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene can save 1.4 million lives per year.
Children in our sponsorship program also receive critical hygiene training, regular medical checkups and malnutrition monitoring. These interventions help keep children healthy and thriving, inspiring them to see beyond the darkness of poverty and into a brighter future.
Deliver Hope & Clean Water Through Compassion
Initiatives like WaSH are a lifeline of hope for children just like Bayo who are in desperate need. But we can’t do it without you. Compassion is only able to partner with local churches to deliver clean water, medical care and other essentials through the help of our supporters.
By donating to help provide clean water to a community or sponsoring a child, you can help Compassion share the hope of the gospel through practical care to children in need. With your yes, we’ll answer Jesus’ call to feed the hungry, look after the sick, welcome the stranger and give water to the thirsty.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” — Matthew 25:40, NIV
Over two billion people around the world lack access to clean water. And millions lack other critical life essentials like medical care and nutritious meals. But you can help change that. By partnering with Compassion, you can help us fight back against poverty, one child at a time.
