10 “How excellent is thy lovingkindness,


O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”


– Psalm 36:7-9


Until I travelled to developing countries with WME, I never fully appreciated the act of walking to a kitchen on a hot summer day, opening the tap at a sink, filling up a glass with water, and drinking it down. It never occurred to me to worry whether that water was sanitary, or if dangerous bacteria or chemicals might be there.


by Victoria Cathcart, WME’s CEO


Some people don’t have access to water and pray for rain so they can catch the falling liquid in an old, deteriorating container. And sadly, the rain storms they depend on may be


few and far between. In other areas, while


men struggle to work for their families, women and children walk with heavy pots on dusty roads for miles each day so they can have enough water to drink, cook and clean. In some areas, people have water around them, but it is not fresh water or it is so diseased and polluted, that it is better to go without.


I’ve seen a slum in Uganda where some clean water was available to the residents, but workers stationed at the few area taps charged a fee for its use. If you are a single mother with young kids living on next to nothing, how do you sacrifice the little money you have for clean water when you’re not sure how to provide shelter, food and clothing? Many of those Ugandans relied on a nearby stream, where water quality was questionable at best.


Clean water is critical to life and survival. When water is unsafe, an entire community suffers. Without a safe water source, people have a hard time growing and harvesting food, raising livestock, or preventing disease and malnutrition. Mere survival becomes their only focus.


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