Facts on Dirty Water
Did you know…
In Colombia 1.4 million people do not have access to clean water. That is around 3% of the population.
19% of the rural population in Colombia uses water from rivers, lakes or wetlands. These water sources are also used by livestock and are severely contaminated.
4.9 million people do not have access to toilets in Colombia. Therefore, the lengths to which they go to use the bathroom get blended in with the land, which adds to the dirty water because the bodily waste blends into the waters eventually, becoming part of what may be consumed for drinking or used for bathing/cooking.
Lack of clean water affects adequate handwashing. Without proper cleanliness in this regard, children especially are susceptible to skin problems, tooth decay, stomach issues and more. When the children get sick, they also miss school. Lack of clean water creates not just illnesses, but has a trickle effect into the education and healthy future of the Colombians.
Receiving Clean Water
When a community obtains access to clean water for the first time, the response is beautiful to see. Below is a photo of the community of Bajo Grande with raised hands, rejoicing over the clean water spouting out of the ground for the first time ever.
Having clean water gives the people an entirely new outlook on the future. Water is life. Clean water, free of bacteria for the first time. The children in the picture above are seeing clean water for the very first time, and this provides them with the hope of healthier lives, which in turn gives hope for a better future.
The people above are from the community of Palmito. The Zenú Indigenous tribe in Palmito are digging the lines for their water system to be put in as well. Their current water source is the below photo. As the lines are installed, the water will fill a 500 Liter tank that each home will have. Therefore, every home in the community of Palmito will have clean water as well. The future just changed dramatically for these indigenous friends of ours in Colombia.
Moving Forward
Now that the water systems are in the process of being installed, when our team arrives in Palmito in July, we will be able to celebrate with the community. For the first time ever, children are bathing in clean water, women are cooking with fresh water, dishes can be cleaned properly, and hands can be sanitized in new ways!
These communities, which have been blessed through your donations, now have hope in a new way. Thank you for being a part of that! If you wish to continue to help the community, our team traveling to Palmito July 9-16 will be taking school supplies to both Palmito and Bajo Grande. You can support us by purchasing small supplies through our list on Amazon. We will distribute basic school supplies such as crayons, notebooks, folders, pencils, pencil sharpeners and more.
Through your donations, you have changed the lives of hundreds of people tucked away in small villages in Colombia. Thank you! We look forward to visiting them in July and bringing back more personal stories and photos.
