Water scarcity is when a region doesn’t have enough safe water to meet the needs of the people living there.
The effects of water scarcity are far-reaching. It forces families to travel long distances for safe water sources, keeps children sick and prevents communities from accessing other critical resources like food.
In partnership with local churches around the world, Compassion is bringing lasting access to safe water, transforming communities in places like Malawi.
Dust from the road clung to the sweat on Lydia’s brow. She had only just begun the trek back home from the nearest water borehole, half a kilometer away. The scorching sun and the weight of the water bucket balanced on her head made each step feel like a mile.
This is a journey Lydia would take multiple times a day, sometimes leaving her two children behind. If she didn’t, her family would be forced to use unsafe water from the nearby river, risking their health.
Sadly, water scarcity is a reality for so many families in Malawi and around the world. But Compassion is taking action, working to deliver safe water to those in need like Lydia.
What Is Water Scarcity?
Water scarcity is when a region doesn’t have enough safe water to meet the needs of the people living there. To families in need, it means the lack of safe drinking water, cooking water and water to care for their bodies.
According to UNICEF, 4 billion people face severe water scarcity for at least one month every year. And 106 million have no other choice but to collect water from unsafe sources like rivers and ponds.
The Devastating Impact of Water Scarcity
What does this clean water crisis look like in the lives it touches? It looks like:
Being forced to travel long distances, often multiple times a day, seeking safe water to drink, cook with and clean with.
While parents work to provide, children often spending their time traveling for water, keeping them out of school and exposing them to the risk of injury or exploitation.
Choosing between dehydration and drinking water from unsafe sources like ponds, risking severe illnesses like dysentery and cholera.
Communities being unable to grow crops or raise livestock, leading to food insecurity and famine.
These impacts are even more severe for children living in poverty. For example, poverty often means children can’t get medical care. So when they get sick from unsafe water, they may not have the care necessary to heal.
Education is also essential for children in poverty to learn and grow into self-sufficient adults. If forced to travel for water instead of going to school, they miss out on learning and future opportunities that could help them rise above poverty.
Causes of Water Scarcity
There are many potential causes of water scarcity, such as:
Infrastructure limitations: In some places around the world, critical infrastructure like pipes, treatment plants and indoor plumbing doesn’t exist at all.
High demand: Population growth in an area can cause a higher demand for more water than is available.
Pollution: Available safe water sources can become polluted due to untreated sewage, trash or even runoff from farms that use pesticides.
Climate change: Changes in the climate impact weather patterns. This can worsen droughts or cause floods, which can contaminate water sources.
By 2040, 1 in 4 children around the world will live in areas of extremely high water stress. — UNICEF
Compassion’s Work to Bring Safe Water to Children in Need
Every child needs water to thrive. That’s why, at Compassion, we’re doing our part to ensure children in countries around the world can get safe water.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WaSH) Initiatives
Through our WaSH initiatives, Compassion works to build critical infrastructure like wells, boreholes, filtration systems and rainwater harvesting systems at church-based Compassion centers in impoverished communities.
This gives families a nearby place to go and gather clean water, keeping children safe from disease, protected from exploitation, in school and growing as God intended.
Partnerships With Organizations Bringing Safe Water Sources
Fighting against water scarcity isn’t a task we can do alone. That’s why we partner with organizations like Water Mission, experts in building sustainable water solutions for communities in need.
Since Compassion’s partnership with Water Mission, we’ve brought safe water access to more than 134,900 people, including over 31,000 children.
Improving Water Access for Families in Rural Malawi
At Compassion centers in local churches around the world, families can access safe water while encountering the Living Water, Jesus, who truly satisfies. And no one knows that quite like Lydia and the community of Chinyanje, Malawi.
Burdened by Water Scarcity
“There were days when fetching water felt like all we did. It stole so much of our time.” — Lydia
For years, those in the community of Chinyanje battled distance, danger and exhaustion while simply trying to collect water. With the nearest borehole a half a kilometer away, many spent hours each day going back and forth. The river was closer, but in it floated other risks.
The river, though an abundant source of water, was never safe. Villagers bathed there. Animals drank there. Foam and pollution sat on the surface. Even still, desperate children would go and sneak drinks from the river, trying to quench their overwhelming thirst.
Because of this, diarrhea and other waterborne diseases became a constant threat. Nearly a third of all illnesses recorded at the community’s Compassion center could be traced back to contaminated water.
The Local Church Provides Safe Water
The local church refused to accept these threats to the well-being of the children. They reached out to their partner, Compassion Malawi, and made one simple request: safe water for those they serve.
It was a request that would change everything.
The day safe water arrived, it did so in a way no one expected. A solar-powered pump, a raised tank and three water access points were installed at the center, serving more than 1,000 households, all at once.
“We know God had planned that one day we would have water. And he has fulfilled that plan through the local church. Now we have water close to our homes.” — Lydia
No Longer Bound
For Lydia, the new water is precious. Not only does it protect her family’s health and quench their thirst, but its proximity has created time for activities like farming, helping the family provide for their needs.
“We are free, no longer bound by the long walks, long queues and lost livelihoods just to find water. Now, things have changed. We go to the farm and run our small business without worrying, because we know water is always waiting.” — Lydia
For Lydia’s children, the nearby water taps have become a place of joy and a safe spot to play away from the scorching sun. “Before, we used to play in the river,” says Mwadaine, Lydia’s daughter. “Not anymore. We have water here — a lot of it! It’s not salty, and it’s nice.”
Beyond the splashing they enjoy, children in the community benefit in other ways. They are healthier and able to attend school. And using the safe water as a tool, children and their caregivers are learning how to care for their bodies through hygiene training at the center.
“Diarrhea cases among our children have dropped significantly from 30% to just 7%. Caregivers are now practicing better hygiene at home, and children are learning habits such as hand-washing and keeping their dishes clean. These simple routines are protecting the gains brought by safe water.” — Matthew, Compassion center director
Living Water Flows
The church has become a haven where families come to be refreshed by flowing water — even those not participating in the Compassion program.
“I don’t have a child in the Compassion program. But the water doesn’t ask questions. I come here any time to draw water. Many of us are being helped by this water; it saves us time, energy, and we feel dignified with this development.” — Annie, a local mother
With each precious gulp, countless families are experiencing the love of Jesus — a well that never runs dry — through the church’s gift of water. Where hope was once stagnant, it now flows freely.
“This place has become a fountain that flows endlessly, where people are drinking water anytime.” — Exvin, local church pastor
From three water points at the Compassion center, water flows, not just into buckets, cups and bottles, but into the souls of those who once thirsted for more than water.
“But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” — John 4:14, NIV
Even though water scarcity threatens billions, there’s hope. Through local churches partnering with Compassion around the world, children and their families can have access to safe water, helping them reach for a brighter future beyond poverty.
