Grace Community Church

Our Mission for 2007 was to Turn on the Tap

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TURN ON THE TAP and help stop the outrage of over 1.1 billion people worldwide not having access to safe water.

Jesus told his followers to give water to those who thirst. Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian organisation which aims to do just that. We work with local churches and partners in the developing world to help people access safe water.

The water projects of Samaritan's Purse save lives and improve health and sanitation. Children who would otherwise spend all day fetching water can go to school.

Using a range of solutions from hand dug wells, water filters and boreholes to health and hygiene education, Samaratans Purse can help break the grip of poverty on local communities

WATER SUPPLIES

Samaritan’s Purse is working to provide safe water supplies in African communities, through provision of:

HAND DUG WELLS These simple wells are lined to help protect the water and a hand pump is fitted for ease of access

BOREHOLES Some communities have boreholes that have fallen into disrepair. Samaritan’s Purse is repairing non-functioning boreholes and training local communities to look after them themselves

SPRINGS Springs are places where water that has been filtered through soil and rock reappears from underground. This water is often therefore safe to drink. Samaritan’s Purse is helping to protect springs – building a protective catchment area around them and providing a tap for people to draw the water – thus protecting the water from contamination by animals or human waste.

HOUSEHOLD WATER TREATMENT

Samaritan’s Purse is providing BioSand Water Filters to families who have access to water, but where the water is not safe to drink. These filters are made from local materials and use a process called ‘slow sand filtration’ to filter out dirt and kill bacteria.

HEALTH & HYGIENE EDUCATION

Samaritan’s Purse is training local educators to teach people about how to use water safely. This includes ways of obtaining and storing safe water, how to dispose of waste, and the importance of hand-washing and hygienic food handling.

LATRINES

Samaritan’s Purse is helping to provide latrines for communities to improve hygiene and prevent disease from spreading.

COMMUNITY WATER TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

In some situations, a small water treatment plant can be used to purify water which can then be piped to tap stands in communities. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends no longer than 1 km or 30 minutes travel to a water point.

How Grace Community Church helped TURN ON THE TAP

Together, we can help to improve the lives of many families around the world and through them, the communities in which they live.

HELP SAMARITAN'S PURSE

1. FILL THE WATER BOTTLE

Take your water bottle home and fill it with coins. When it is full up, write a cheque for the amount and send it to Samaritan’s Purse. A small amount of money can make a big difference. For example:

£10 COULD TRAIN A PERSON IN AFRICA TO MAINTAIN THEIR COMMUNITY’S WATER SUPPLY

£15 COULD HELP GIVE A FAMILY OF 5 ACCESS TO A BOREHOLE

£25 COULD HELP PROTECT A SPRING AND PROVIDE A FAMILY WITH SAFE WATER

£30 COULD PROVIDE A LATRINE TO IMPROVE SANITATION AND PREVENT DISEASE

£40 COULD PROVIDE A WATER FILTER FOR ONE FAMILY

2. CHALLENGE FOR ZION PENTECOSTAL CHURCH

The challenge for Zion Pentecostal Church for the water project in 2007 is this:

A gift of £2,250 could provide a hand dug well fitted with a hand pump for up to 500 people.

A gift of £2,500 could help repair a non-functioning borehole where the water table is deeper than 60m below the ground surface. This could transform the daily lives and health of 500 people in Mozambique.