Larry and Sally* are missionaries serving in Africa. Larry, a physician, knows how important safe drinking water is.
“Every day, I see and treat children and adults who are suffering from bad water,” he said. “Some end up dying. A sad reality is that something as preventable as this happens.”
For many people in the world, walking miles while carrying heavy jugs of water in order to make sure they have clean water is a daily reality. Many missionaries constantly run the risk of contracting a disease or parasite from the water in the countries they are in.
The good news is it doesn’t have to happen. For years, Woman’s Missionary Union has been supplying missionaries like Larry and Sally with water filtration units for their homes and portable filters for traveling. In many cases, WMU, through its Pure Water, Pure Love program, also provides safe drinking water for the people that International Mission Board missionaries minister to in impoverished areas of the world.
“We are so grateful that WMU has always cared for us, and this project is such a blessing,” said Larry.
WMU works with churches, Christian organizations and missionaries to provide clean drinking water through well-drilling or water purification systems.
In South Carolina, WMU leaders help promote Pure Water, Pure Love for national WMU, said Laurie Register, executive director-treasurer of South Carolina WMU. Several church women’s groups have raised money for the program, including Mon Aetna Baptist Church in Union, which collected more than $6,000, she said. Piney Forest Baptist Church in Andrews also provided a significant offering. Register said Vacation Bible School groups across the state, as well as GAs, RAs and CIA, have collected offerings for Pure Water, Pure Love.
Julie Waters, a spokesperson for national WMU, told the Courier that since 2005 WMU has disbursed more than $550,000 in grants for well and water projects and to provide assistance with disaster relief. In 2014, more than 1,500 water filters and filter replacement parts were provided to missionaries, and three grants totaling $27,450 supported well projects in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Haiti.
According to information posted at WMU.com, the cost of water filters ranges from a $50 personal water bottle to a $250 home unit. The initial cost is usually $400-$500 for a missionary family, which provides the family with a home unit, travel-sized filters and replacement parts.
The leadership of Pure Water, Pure Love works with the IMB medical staff to determine the best quality filters for missionaries. The most common filter is a drip filter. Missionaries can pour in dirty water, and the filter removes disease-carrying microorganisms. Missionaries can also receive filter pumps and water bottles that filter water while traveling. Tablets and chemical purifiers are also available.
Church groups and individuals can support Pure Water, Pure Love by sending donations to: WMU, c/o PWPL, P.O. Box 830010, Birmingham, Ala., 35283-0010. For more information, visit WMU.com and click on “Pure Water, Pure Love” under the “Ministries” tab.
* Names have been changed.