Zach, Eddie, Isaiah, Grandma and Chris show off Biosand Water Filters ready for distribution in Wongonyi Village.
Well, I know I am a couple of days late in celebrating World Water Day but we have just returned from a successful trip to Wongonyi Village in Kenya. Here in the developed world we are blessed to have water ready at our fingertips whenever we need it for drinking, bathing, watering our gardens. We simply go to the tap, turn it on and presto, water at our fingertips. And because of its easy access and availability we are wont to waste this precious natural resource.
Yet in the developing world access to water is not so easy. People often have to walk several kilometres each day to fetch water, carrying the heavy jugs home on their heads, compressing their spines or in wheelbarrows making for aching arms. And the water is not always clean or safe - sometimes it is muddy water from water hole that is also shared with wild animals.
World Water Day is a day of awareness of this important natural resource and the many people worldwide who go without safe, clean drinking water leading to intestinal illness and diseases that keep children from school and adults from their jobs. In Wongonyi Village, The Ronnie Fund is addressing the issue of safe drinking water by providing Biosand Water Filters in homes. These concrete filters are filled with sand and gravel replicating the earth's natural water filtering process. After two weeks from installation, the filtered water is ready to be safely drunk. We were able to see the difference that safe drinking water is having on the residents of Wongonyi. It's amazing how a simple tool like a Biosand Water Filter can have such positive impact on peoples lives.
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