clean water through the local church in india
Lack of access to clean water is a huge problem for more than 800 million people in the developing world, and many generous Christians annually give tens of millions of dollars to organizations that seek to address this critical need. In most places it is not difficult to put in a well, and it can often be done in a week or less. Many outfits withdraw when the water is flowing, and a huge opportunity is lost. What opportunity is that? Well, consider the new initiative that we are helping Neverthirst (see www.neverthirstwater.org) develop for India which aims to equip the church to help poor and marginalized people gain access to clean water while sharing the love of Christ.
Helping a community gain access to clean water is an opportunity to develop long term relationships and to use the theme of water as a tool to empower them to identify and solve other problems like lack of sanitation or lack of teachers in their school. Water can give a community the tools to put them on a whole new trajectory. But we are helping Neverthirst go even beyond that with an “Adopt a Village” approach. Their plan is to work through the local church, to strengthen it and equip it to reach out to these communities in ways that bless them physically and spiritually and that foster dignity and respect instead of dependency.
So how is Concentric Development assisting Neverthirst? Here are a few of the ways:
Expected Results
Broader potential impact
Helping a community gain access to clean water is an opportunity to develop long term relationships and to use the theme of water as a tool to empower them to identify and solve other problems like lack of sanitation or lack of teachers in their school. Water can give a community the tools to put them on a whole new trajectory. But we are helping Neverthirst go even beyond that with an “Adopt a Village” approach. Their plan is to work through the local church, to strengthen it and equip it to reach out to these communities in ways that bless them physically and spiritually and that foster dignity and respect instead of dependency.
So how is Concentric Development assisting Neverthirst? Here are a few of the ways:
- Help clarify their objectives and guide the design their intervention
- Identify other examples of good practice in community-based water supply, hygiene and sanitation (both Christian and secular), make introductions and facilitate field visits
- Identify capacity gaps within the Neverthirst India team and among their church partners
- Assist in the development of strategies, identifying resources and outlining specific steps to address capacity gaps
- Help design program launch process and assist with periodic assessment and fine tuning of program implementation
- Help develop simple but effective monitoring and evaluation systems that facilitate measurement of impact and allow for program improvement
Expected Results
- Local churches that are equipped to motivate and empower marginalized communities to address their needs for clean water, better hygiene practices and sanitation.
- Communities that ensure each household has convenient access to clean water and that eliminate open defecation, resulting in improved health and livelihoods
- Long term relationships between local churches and communities based on trust, respect and appreciation that reflect Christ’s love.
Broader potential impact
- A field tested model of community development based on partnership with the local church that can be shared with others
- A better understanding of what it takes to equip the local church to effectively meet both physical and spiritual needs of marginalized communities
- Experience with community managed clean water, hygiene and sanitation that can influence Neverthirst’s work in other countries as well as the work of other clean water organizations more broadly.
- Neverthirst’s North American church partners and individual donors develop a better understanding of how to support Indian churches in their efforts to meet physical and spiritual needs of marginalized communities