Haiti is a country filled with beautiful people and great possibilities. Today it is also a place with many problems. Haiti is one of the most water-impoverished countries in the world and after the earthquake, there are even more challenges. Nine out of ten people do not have running water, and almost half of Haiti’s nine million people do not have access to any safe drinking water.

In Haiti it usually falls to the youngest family members to retrieve water each day for the family. Children as young as four and five are sent out to walk hours each day. Too often, children must spend the day walking for water instead of going to school. And the water they find may still bring illness. Drinking tainted water kills thousands each year, and children are especially vulnerable. In fact, one of every eight kids in Haiti won’t reach his or her fifth birthday. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Creating a well or other clean water resource offers health and shows much love. Imagine churches in Haiti becoming places where people can come for both the literal and spiritual water of life. Imagine a place known more for its hope than for its poverty.