- Karrie Meekhof
- Nunica, MI
- United States
This conversation has closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »
Why don't we get the church involved in this?
I am a college student studying Environmental Biology and Inter-cultural Studies, or missions. I plan on working toward solutions for getting people clean water in the future. As a missionary, I would be supported by my church, and this makes me think, if the church will support me, why shouldn't the church support and idea like this? We are constantly talking about caring for the poor. Getting churches to sponsor a family or a community by buying them Lifesaver bottles and filters would be a very simple way to actively care for the poor. Many of the comments on Michael Pritchard's video talked about the cost of these bottles being way too high, especially the maintenance, but if whole churches got behind it, the cost would be very little per person. I don't believe that the Lifesaver bottles are a permanent solution but lives can be saved, and i think that as a community of people that claim to be followers of Christ that serve His Kingdom, there is no reason we could not step up and pitch in a few dollars a month or so for a Lifesaver jerrycan filter instead of buying that new phone or whatever else we tend to waste money on. We should take advantage of our filthy rich American lifestyle by holding the church accountable to what we say we are all about and challenging ourselves to do something about it.
Ward Miller
Thank you for the comment. Your heart is in the right place. I am one of those who pointed out the high cost of Lifesaver versus other technologies. Look at it this way, for every $100 your church raises, you can buy a Lifesaver that will provide clean water for a family for a few months. After that, the filter becomes a piece of trash unless some organization is around to provide a new filter for them.
Or you could take that $100 and provide chlorine based purification for TEN families for a YEAR and hygiene education that lasts a lifetime. After a family is taught to use chlorine (whether it be aquatabs or plain ol' bleach) there is likely no need for further intervention because chlorine is already locally available and affordable to most people, even the very poor. They would then be able to take care of their own needs.
If you would like to pursue this as a charitable cause for your church, please consider looking at the UN WHO website. Save the Children is also strong in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector.