CBN's Operation Blessing on a Mission to 'Share God's Love' on World Water Day: 'The Gift of Clean Water'

CBN's Operation Blessing is on a mission to transform lives in the highlands of Peru this World Water Day. 

There's no reliable source of fresh, clean water for residents in a remote Andean community located in Tarahuancuni, Peru. 

"The hardest thing is that there is no water," Dominga, a Tarahuancuni resident, told Operation Blessing. "People say that water is life, and it's true. It's sad not having it." 

Families are currently relying on contaminated, unprotected wells and in some cases, they have to walk as much as 40 minutes each way to collect water.  

For people like Dominga, the trek is often dangerous and exhausting.

"There is a well, but it is very deep," Dominga shared. "If children are left unattended, they could fall in. It's a real danger."

Drew Friedrich, Operation Blessing's Chief Operating Officer, told CBN News, that for the town's 215 residents, every sip of water could be deadly.

"They currently rely on old dilapidated, contaminated wells that animals use to go to the bathroom or to drink water from. [The residents are] using this to drink water themselves; to wash their clothes, to wash their dishes," he explained. "You can imagine, just how unclean that is, how unsanitary, and how that might impact the community health in this area." 

Operation Blessing tested the community's water supply, which contains visible debris and even tadpoles. They found it to have dangerous bacteria. 

Parents watch their children suffer from stomach pain, diarrhea, and other waterborne illnesses due to the lack of clean water. 

Yolinda, a local mother in Tarahuancuni, says she has watched her children get very sick. "Brigitte sometimes gets sick with stomach pains and diarrhea; that's a concern for me," she shared. 

Dominga sees her children suffering too. "My son has been sick more than eight times," Dominga said. "Every two weeks he gets sick with diarrhea. Sometimes it lasts a week or more."

On top of that, Dominga says that even though she and the other residents are able to reach the water, it is difficult to transport. 

"We have to bring water from the well using bags, carts, and buckets," she shared. "Carrying water in buckets is very heavy and it's easy to slip and fall, especially walking over wet ground."

And worse, this community lacks a sanitation system which forces them to relieve themselves outdoors or in makeshift holes. 

"We believe nobody should have to do that," Friedrich said.

That is why Operation Blessing is looking to bring a change. 

"We really believe that clean water, safe water, is a right that everyone has, that everyone should have access to, so that's why we're doing what we're doing," said Friedrich.

When local missionaries shared with OB the plight of the Tarahuancuni, the ministry knew they had to help.

"We can bring clean water and sanitation to a hurting community in Peru," the organization shared online. "This World Water Day, let's bring God's love and hope to families and children through the gift of clean water." 

The ministry will be installing a sustainable clean water system that will deliver clean, safe water directly to every home. 

Additionally, each home will have a water treatment and filtration that will eliminate contaminants and disease risks. And in another step to improve hygiene and reduce illness, OB will be installing sanitary latrines with biodigesters. 

The community will also receive hygiene education and training to empower them to maintain long-term health. 

Installing a clean water filtration system will transform the villagers' lives because it means their children will no longer suffer from waterborne diseases and families can focus on building a better future instead of searching for water.

"We know that there's a dignity that comes with cleanliness, and with health," Friedrich explained. "Far too often when there's this sickness and illness brought on by dirty water in these communities, Kids are missing school because they're sick. [Which means] parents are missing work."

"It impacts their income and loss of income leads to more poverty and poverty leads to greater risk," he continued. "It's very much a cycle of poverty and lack of access to clean water and health that we are breaking by putting this water system in." 

Friedrich says OB's work of providing a clean water system doesn't just stop there. There's a bigger mission.

"We feel like water's really the front door, just like any of our different pillars," he explained. "Whenever we show up to help people, we do it in the name of Jesus and we do it because God has called us to go and love these people."

"We know that He's got a plan and a purpose for their lives, that He created them in His image and that they have a dignity as a result of that. And so we go, not because we're such great humanitarians, but because God loves them with such a great love and wants them to have access to clean water," Friedrich shared. 

He added, "He's given us the tools and the resources, the incredible donors to do so. And it's our job and our calling to share that with these people. And as we do that, they understand the Gospel and why we've been called."

How You Can Help This World Water Day

With a gift of any amount, you can provide a child or mother with safe, clean water for years to come. With $50,000, OB can fully fund the community water system, ensuring that no family has to choose between thirst and sickness ever again.

"This World Water Day, we would love to partner with you to bring help to Tarahuancuni, Peru to bring clean water, better sanitation, and hygiene options to this wonderful, dedicated community," said OB's Maureen Fuller.

"Let's bring hope to a hurting world, one community at a time. Let's partner together for the Glory of God to share His love, to share his compassion through this clean water, hygiene, and sanitation," she said. 

Join Operation Blessing in changing lives this World Water Day. Give now at: https://go.ob.org/WaterDay25CBNNews