YOUR GIFTS AT WORK
Thank you for following Jesus into the toughest places, where He’s already at work. Because of you and other faithful givers, kids, families, and communities are creating change in their own lives — change that lasts!
- Read how families in Afghanistan not only received clean water but learned how to help keep it running for years to come.
- Meet Beto, a 1-year-old boy in Angola who bounced back from severe malnutrition.
- Pray for God’s blessing in ongoing efforts to empower kids and families with clean, sustainable water and renewed health.
It’s early in the morning in Afganistan’s Bagdis province, but the whole village seems to be streaming in. This water system was opened a week ago and the excitement is fresh. Six taps provide clean water for everyone here.
“We approached World Vision about our water situation,” explains Abdul, a 60-year-old water management committee member. “Oftentimes, children were responsible for the water collection and it could take them up to a couple of hours … Sometimes they had to miss school for it. We knew something needed to change.”
It’s exactly these kids who gather clean water this morning too. Six-year-old Arezu has a big smile on her face. She’s come with her brother. They’re just one of the 545 families who now benefit. Just a few days prior, water here would be collected from a river, often dirty and contaminated by trash and feces, introducing all kinds of waterborne diseases to the villagers.
“The system operates entirely on solar energy, making it self-sufficient,” explains water, sanitation, and hygiene engineer Javid, who helped put the system in place. It pumps up salty groundwater, then filters it through reverse osmosis.
Community ownership is the key here. Responsibility for the unit has been handed over to a local water management committee—community members like Abdul who’ve been trained in maintenance and upkeep. In this way, true sustainable change is possible!
Thank you for joining with us to bring close, clean water access to these families — it will bring renewed health and hours back in the day for all … especially for the women and children.
Beto’s health bounces back in Angola
Just look at him. Playful 1-year-old Beto is the picture of good health now. You can see the love he has for his mom radiating out from him. It’s hard to believe how severe his condition was only six months before.
World Vision community health worker Octavio Ndaudadelela conducted outreach to assess children for severe, acute malnutrition. He visited Beto’s home in rural Angola. The boy was severely malnourished because of the country’s worst drought in 38 years.
Beto’s mom, Ndahambelela, says, “When Beto was sick, he didn’t laugh, and he didn’t play. He cried a lot back then. He was so unwell and thin and had lots of diarrhea. He even stopped taking my breast milk. When I tried to give him food, he didn’t really want that either. I was so worried about him.”
Octavio gave Beto ready-to-use therapeutic food and now he’s fully recovered and healthy. “I thank God for witnessing how Beto’s health has improved,” shares Octavio. “Seeing Beto so healthy really motivates me to continue this work.”
“Now he laughs and plays. I don’t worry about him like I used to,” says Beto’s mom. And Beto’s not alone in his good news. Over the last 10 years, 89% of the severely malnourished children we treated made a full recovery. Your generosity is truly saving kids’ lives!
Ways to Pray
1
Ask God to protect even more kids in Afghanistan from the dangers of unclean water.
2
Pray that the recovery rate of severely malnourished kids will rise even higher than 89% because every child’s life is infinitely precious.
3
Pray that together we can reach everyone, everywhere we work with clean water by 2030 — that’s about 50 million people!
Empower kids and families with gifts like a goat, alpaca, or clean water through the World Vision Gift Catalog. Honor a loved one by giving in their name.
Empower kids and families with gifts like a goat, alpaca, or clean water through the World Vision Gift Catalog. Honor a loved one by giving in their name.
Walk or run for clean water on May 22, 2021 — virtually from right where you are — and change a life through World Vision’s Global 6K for Water®.
You’re a part of his story now. See how Washington state pastor Ofa Helotu Langi is serving his community during the pandemic.