Home to more than 1.2 billion people, nearly 70 percent of India’s population lives in villages where groundwater is their main source of drinking water. However, like many third-world nations, water contamination poses a huge problem.
Although water sanitation continues to slowly improve, there are still millions of people without access to sanitary drinking water. Many people drink and cook with water that is contaminated with human and animal feces and industrial chemicals. In fact, the World Bank estimates that 21 percent of communicable diseases in India, such as diarrhea, are related to unsafe water. Diarrhea alone causes 1,600 deaths each day.1
Through the incredible support of our friends and partners, we are happy to report that, to date, we have installed more than 200 Well of Life freshwater wells throughout India as well as a few in other parts of the world. But that’s not all. In most cases, we also build a church next to each well.
Our mission is simple. We want to express the love of God through supplying one of their most vital physical needs—freshwater. These wells then bring thousands of unbelievers to the adjacent church, creating a wide-open door for us to also meet their spiritual needs.
To date, hundreds of communities and tens of thousands of lives have been completely transformed through this amazing outreach.
Bringing Relief to the Amazon Basin
In the heart of Brazil flows the world’s second longest and widest river—the Amazon. This river is the primary source of water for millions of villagers who live in the Amazon Basin…and one of the main reasons so many become chronically ill with bacterial infections and other diseases.
In partnership with Project Amazon, Hand of Hope has sponsored the installation of hundreds of BioSand Household Water Filters in homes all along the Amazon Basin. These filters have been recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the best low-tech water filters in the world. We continue to install nearly 50 water filters each month.
Installing these filters is also opening many spiritual doors. As we go into a village to bring freshwater, Project Amazon’s team of “river pastors” also begin the process of planting a church in the area. As a result, hundreds have received ministry and prayer and have given their lives to the Lord.
1 “India,” accessed on September 15, 2008.