The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made it a priority to increase access to clean, safe drinking water and adequate hygiene facilities.
Improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene is essential for human health and well-being, explains the Church’s Caring website. Jesus Christ taught, “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink” (Matthew 25:35).
The Church’s administrative areas around the world take the lead in assessing needs in local communities and implementing help where it is needed. Below are three recent examples of ways the Church improved water access.
Water filters and handwashing stations in Philippines
For years, students of Dimantal Elementary School in Bugallon, Pangasinan, Philippines, relied on a local watershed that becomes heavily contaminated during the rainy season. This left children vulnerable to illness and stretched families’ limited budgets to purchase bottled water.
On April 23, the Church and Waves for Water Philippines distributed 40 household water filters, enough for every family in the community, and eight handwashing stations for installation in the school’s classrooms.
Besides the donation, the officials also led a training session for community members to know how to use and maintain their filtration units effectively, reported the Church’s Philippines Newsroom.
Bishop Alvaro Ferrer of the Bugallon Ward, Aguilar Philippines Stake, was present for the occasion.
“These water filters from Waves for Water, provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are such a huge help,” Bishop Ferrer said. “They really filter out dirty water and germs, so the water coming out of the filter is safe to drink. The community is overjoyed because this aid is a big deal to them, for their safety and health.”
Aurora Ordonia, one of the school’s teachers, expressed what they mean in her own words: “Our students will no longer struggle.”
Borehole and water tank in Sierra Leone
The small community of New England Ville in western Freetown, Sierra Leone, received a sustainable solution to a long-standing need for clean and accessible water.
On April 3, the Church officially handed over a new borehole and water tank to the residents, who had been relying on a natural spring for their water supply. But the spring was not meeting the needs of the growing population, and children often missed school to fetch water for their families.
The stored water will serve both the school and the surrounding neighborhood, improving daily living conditions and supporting better health and sanitation, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
Bishop Alfred M. Sesay, bishop of the New England Ward in the Freetown Sierra Leone East Stake, presided over the event. He said to those in attendance: “As we hand over this water pump, we do more than present a physical project — we share a symbol of love, service and the gospel of Jesus Christ in action. … Clean water is essential for life, and providing it is an expression of Christlike compassion and care.”
Water treatment kits and storage tanks in Mexico
In January, the Church made a donation to the organization Alliance for Environmental Health, Development and Sustainability AC to improve the water and hygiene conditions in 17 public schools in vulnerable communities in Chihuahua, Mexico.
The initiative includes installation of water treatment kits, 5,000-liter storage tanks, pumps and handwashing stations, reported the Church’s Mexico Newsroom.
More than 1,800 school-age children, teachers and families in the school communities will benefit, because they will experience fewer gastrointestinal illnesses and school absenteeism.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) committees at the schools will assume defined roles to ensure the project’s continuity.
