As Christians, we know the importance that Jesus placed on caring for the hungry and thirsty in our world (Matthew 25:31-46).

Last year, I travelled to Vanuatu to see the water tanks donated by the Safe Water September challenge and how they have impacted the communities there.

While some improvements have largely been made thanks to advancements in development, today, providing clean, drinkable water to vulnerable communities is still challenging. This is because the number of natural disasters, often droughts, is increasing, and man-made disasters, such as conflicts, are also on the rise, displacing populations and placing pressure on resources such as water.

Globally, 1 in 4 people do not have access to clean water today

(ref. https://ourworldindata.org/clean-water).

The community in Amata, just outside of Santo, has exploded in population due to the volcanic eruption on Ambae in 2018. It is now a community of internally displaced people, refugees in their own nation, living humbly along the coastal shores. This local population growth has increased the demand for the daily water needed for drinking and subsistence farming.

Thanks to those who donated to Safe Water September, many homes in Amata received a water tank in 2019. These thousand-litre water tanks harvest water off the roof gutters and are close to homes for easy access. Today, those tanks continue to provide safe water.

Safe Water September has begun again this year, and we continue to raise much-needed funds for clean water projects in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Vanuatu.

In Mark 9:41, Jesus shares, “Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”

With this in mind, let us ask how many cups of water we might possibly give this Safe Water September simply because we belong to the Messiah.

In Faith,

John Lamerton,
Chief Executive Officer