Everything changed for Agatha through a Samaritan’s Purse water project.

Thanks to generous donors like you, a young girl can drink water she doesn’t fear.

Your gift today will give children like Agatha life and health through safe water.

Everything changed for Agatha through a Samaritan’s Purse water project.

Thanks to generous donors like you, a young girl can drink water she doesn’t fear.

Your gift today will give children like Agatha life and health through safe water.

Agatha’s Story

For the first time in her life, Agatha can drink water that she doesn’t fear. She used to worry with every trip to the murky river near her school in Kenya. "People—and even animals— pollute the river," she said. “It was not good for us to drink.”

But those days are over. That same dirty river water is transformed by a new BioSand Filter at Agatha’s school. “The filter makes the water safe,” she said before cupping her hands for a cool drink. “It saves our lives. When we are drinking water, we do not have fears. … Thank you for all the things you have done for us.”

Your gifts today give children and families safe water that changes life from constant sickness to revitalized health.


The Water Crisis Is Here

At Agatha’s school, the nearest water source is the river—nearly 2 kilometers away. It's a long, tiring trip for students needing to quench their thirst on hot Kenyan days. “We had no water in this school,” said Isaac, the head teacher. When the students reached the river, each sip threatened them with typhoid, cholera, parasites, and other potentially deadly diseases.

Dirty water is a reality for boys and girls around the world. Nearly one-quarter of our planet’s population lacks safe water. Children are most at risk. Over 1,000 little ones die each day from unsafe water. Students also lose more than 443 million school days because of illness from the water they drink. But there is a solution!

“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”
John 4:14

Water Filters Save Lives

The gift of a water filter changes everything. Fed by a pipe from the river, the filter at Agatha’s school uses a powerful, natural system to remove deadly bacteria and parasites. “We don’t have many cases of diseases because the water is safe,” said Isaac. “We have enough water to give [the children] and to use for cooking at the school’s kitchen.”

Smaller household filters give families safe water at home. Since 1998, gifts like yours have provided filters at over 500 schools and in more than 300,000 homes—giving safe water to over 1.7 million people.

  • The Canadian-invented BioSand Water Filter uses layers of sand, gravel, and naturally occurring micro-organisms to remove bacteria and parasites that make people sick.
  • The filters require no electricity and are simple for families to maintain.
  • The BioSand Filter can reduce bacteria by 95 percent and turbidity (cloudiness) by 85 percent.
  • Filters installed decades ago still produce safe water today! Families also receive hygiene training to help create a healthy home.
  • The large school BioSand Filter can provide 225-300 staff and students with safe water daily.
  • Samaritan’s Purse also drills wells, builds reservoirs, and installs other types of filters.

As we work with local churches to share the gift of safe water, God opens doors to share about the “living water” (John 4:10) Jesus gives.

When you give this Christmas, you can provide life-changing safe water in Jesus’ Name.

When You Give This Christmas, You Give a Family Life-Changing Safe Water in Jesus’ Name

I wish you could see the families and kids I see—their happiness because they are healthy. It’s not just a filter or hand-washing station you are giving, it’s thankfulness in thousands of hearts.

— David, Samaritan’s Purse partner, El Salvador (not pictured)

It’s clean water and clean hands that will prevent diseases. Before, the water was just little so they [the students] could just have a drop, but now they can enjoy washing their hands with the running water, and this helps them to be clean and healthy.

— Nancy, Teacher at school for children with disabilities, Kenya

When we drink [the filtered water], the pain in our stomach disappears. It helps clean our bodies because we are drinking clean water.

— Aileeza, Mother of four, Philippines

Your Christmas Gift of ...

Hand-washing station

Checkmark $100 can provide 1 hand-washing station for a school.

School water filter

Checkmark $90 can share in the $20,000 cost of 1 school water filter plus latrines and hand-washing stations.

Household water filter

Checkmark $175 can give 1 water filter for a family.

Together, We Can Give Children Freedom from Waterborne Disease

Agatha is healthy, attending school confidently, and dreaming of a brighter future. She hopes that many more students in Kenya and other countries will experience the blessing of safe water in Jesus’ Name.

As Agatha experiences God’s love through the gift of a filter, she is also participating in a Bible study, where she hears Jesus' words: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37).

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