Why Water?

Because every 15 seconds, a child dies because of water-related illness. 5,000 children 5 years and younger die every day.
One-sixth of the world population doesn't have access to clean, safe water.
Contaminated water kills 2.2 million people annually -- a death-toll equivalent to 20 jumbo jets crashing every day.
90% of all diseases around the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene.

One well with safe, clean, water can change the life expectancy, health, and education of an entire community. Click here to discover how to help and partner with Watermark to bring life to Uganda and Burundi.

Water is life. In places where we've drilled wells together, it has brought health and unity to the community. People walk together to the wells, and take care of them together. Our ministry follows up with people living near the wells with training on health/hygiene as well as discipleship. Pray with us that we can provide more wells so that more lives can be touched. - Nelson Okello, Uganda Country Director, ALARM

Water and Education

443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. School-aged girls are not able to go to school and remain illiterate because their time is consumed by fetching water.
More than 150 million school-age children are severely affected by waterborne parasites like roundworm, whipworm, and hookworm. These children commonly carry up to 1,000 parasites at a time, causing anemia, stunted growth, and other debilitating conditions.
Water-related illnesses impact kids in schools, directly reducing cognitive potential and increasing absenteeism, dropout rates and attention deficits.

Water and Poverty

People in rural Africa spend an average of 26% of their time fetching water - a task often given to women and school-aged girls. 40 billion working hours are spent carrying water each year in Africa.
The lack of clean water keeps people trapped in poverty. Countless hours are spent on collecting water, and household income is spent on both purchasing water and medical treatment for water-related diseases.
The statistics indicate a two-way relationship between extreme poverty and lack of access to safe water. About two-thirds of those without access to safe water live on less than $2 a day. Half of these-roughly equivalent to the population of the United States-live on less than $1 a day.

If it weren't for the new well you drilled in our community, we'd be drinking from a dirty, stagnant pond that was making us ill. We'd have to walk very far to get water, but the new well is just next door. Now people are moving to our community because there is water, and our new well is becoming overwhelmed. - Carlina, a young woman living near one of the Watermark wells in Uganda

Investing in the Eternal

"I visited Uganda for the first time in April of this year," said Matt Levy. "Watermark has been working with ministries in Northern Uganda and Burundi for a couple of years now, training leaders, equipping pastors and providing for the practical needs of people there. On that trip, I saw something I'll never forget.

"Driving down a dirt road, I saw two kids standing over a pothole and filling up their water cans with the dirty, oily water inside. African kids often walk miles every day to fetch water. In many cases the water they drink is dirty and contains bacteria that makes them sick. The kids I saw that day were about the same age as my children - the only difference between them was the place they live. They were my younger brothers and sisters in Christ, and they didn't have something that we take for granted: clean water to drink."

"As we visited with the people who work with ALARM, our ministry partners in Uganda, it was obvious that nothing sustainable can happen in a community if they don't have access to clean water. Access to clean water affects everything - the health of the people and the ability to seek work or go to school. It's foundational to a sustainable community and our ability to minister to people there.

"In this part of the world, some have used water as a tool to divide and exploit. Watermark has taken care to partner with organizations like ALARM who select godly leaders to identify well locations and then oversee them after they have been drilled. These leaders allow the well to be a tool to unite the community and bring people to Christ. Once ALARM has identified where the well needs to be drilled Living Water performs the drilling and any required well maintenance.

"One of those leaders is Nelson Okello, the Uganda Country Director for ALARM. He and his wife, Jessica, have helped us by identifying communities where wells should be drilled and, more important, by living out what leadership really is: leading people by loving them. They've taken dozens of people into their home -- giving them food, clothing and a safe place to stay. Recently, they shared that they were running out of space in their home, and the only place they had left for people to sleep was under the kitchen table. They planned to use that space as well, if it meant they could help a child in need. Nelson's example reminds me that I have much more to learn about sacrifice and giving.

"I just got back from a second trip to Uganda where I saw first-hand the impact the water wells are having. Families who once lived in camps for displaced people are now setting in communities where the wells are located. Watermark is now able to help build a trade school in Padir, in Northern Uganda. That school will help educate and care for orphans and children who were abducted and used as child soldiers in the war in Uganda. But the school would never have been built if there wasn't clean water for the workers who constructed it and for the kids who'll be educated there.

"God is at work, even in the significant physical needs of the people we serve in Africa. When we're able to meet urgent needs, there's immense relief and an immediate receptiveness to what we might have to offer them. People are willing to engage in conversation about the Lord, because someone has helped them with their practical needs in the name of Jesus. When I see their joy in the midst of such difficult circumstances I sometimes wonder if following Christ without the material distractions we face here in Dallas would be easier.

"God has used the opportunity to serve Christ both here in Dallas and in Africa to give me a better perspective on my responsibility as a Christ follower. I've looked at 1 John 3:17 and it's encouraged me to invest in people in eternally significant ways. God has given me a better understanding of His love for me, and that has allowed me to love others with out criticism or expectation, and invest in their lives right where they are." - Matt Levy (35) serves in the Watermark Community Ministry and on the External Focus Team. Matt and his wife, Amy, have two children, Jonah (8) and Maggie (5). Matt works in management and technology consulting.

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion-how can God's love be in that person? 1 John 3:17 (New Living Translation)

Resources

PRAY: Download a short prayer guide here.

IDENTIFY: Download a list of activities you can do to help you understand more about the water crisis and how it affects lives of people on a daily basis.

GIVE: Click here to make a donation online.

SHARE: Click here to share this site with friends and family.

LEARN MORE: Find out more about Watermark and our partners in this initiative:

ALARM - African Leadership And Reconciliation Ministries - http://alarm-inc.org/

ALARM is an African ministry, empowering African pastors and other leaders to bring hope and transformation to their communities. Watermark and ALARM have partnered together to drill wells, care for orphans and widows, and conduct leadership and conflict resolution for pastors and other leaders in Uganda and Burundi. Find out more about ALARM here.

Living Water International - http://www.water.cc/

Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience "living water" - the gospel of Jesus Christ. Watermark partners with Living Water to drill wells and obtain the necessary permits in communities throughout Uganda and Burundi.

Watermark Community Church - www.watermark.org

Watermark Community Church is located at 7540 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, TX 75251. Join us for worship on Sundays at 9 am, 11 am and 5:30 pm. Read more at www.watermark.org.