Water filters transform lives and open doors for the Gospel in a remote Filipino village.
New Life on the Mountaintop
High on a muggy mountaintop in the Philippines sits the village of Panimbay. It can only be reached on foot. Pastor Alexis climbs up every Sunday for church. He’s the volunteer pastor. First, he must drive for an hour and a half. “Sometimes I pray to God that I have gasoline for my motorcycle!” he said.
Alexis is also fueled by a calling and passion to bring Good News to the 250 people who call Panimbay home. “I always share about the love of God,” he said. “But it is hard for me to share without anything we can offer to meet their physical needs.
Pastor Alexis learned that the community had a big problem. “There was a diarrhea outbreak from the source of water,” he explained.
A pipe brings water into the community from a nearby spring that is open to contamination from a canal where animals defecate. Other pollutants seep in, including bacteria and parasites that wreak havoc on the health of Panimbay residents.
As a water, sanitation, and hygiene ambassador with our local partner, Alexis knew there was a solution. Because of friends like you, he was able to immediately provide 20 household filters for families in need.
“I knew the filter would be very helpful for them,” said Alexis. “It’s not only a thing they can use for a while, or for a day, but for years.” Word spread. Soon, nearly every family in the village wanted one. We were able to provide them through your gifts.
Angel, a young mother of two, is thrilled about her filter. “I felt worried about what happened to my children,” she said, explaining how her kids suffered during the outbreak. “Now that they are drinking water from the filter, I have seen that there is no diarrhea.”
Today, Angel’s 6-year-old daughter, Jean, holds her cup beneath the filter’s spout. Safe water rushes in. She takes big gulps that relieve her from the day’s intense heat—gulps that, before the filter, would have made her severely sick.
Life is challenging for Angel and her husband. He works away from home, sometimes for weeks, and it’s a struggle to provide basic needs for their kids. But the gift of safe water has brought physical and spiritual transformation to their home.
