The Impact of Clean Water on one Community

Learn about Aaron, pictured above, in the story below.

Reflections from the Uganda Christmas 2023 Expedition

“I want to be a chemist.” I was surprised to hear that! Aaron was a 15-year-old boy from a small village in Uganda. As we sat in the courtyard of his school enjoying a break from our work, he told me some of his favorite things about growing up in his village and also his hopes and dreams for the future. He was friendly and smiled often, something I noticed (and loved) about nearly everyone we had met in Uganda.

It was Christmastime, so the school was closed; but Aaron came to help us construct desks and chairs and a new classroom, as did many other children. It was the 7^th day of our expedition, and we had already visited many villages where we saw poverty and hardship on a scale I had never seen before. Most of the children had no shoes and walked long distances multiple times a day to get water for their families; not clean water but water so filthy it causes diseases that kill a quarter of those who use it. Many of the children attend school under mango trees, gather firewood for cooking each day, and have very little to wear or eat. They love to play and enjoy life like all children do, but they also spend a good bit of their time helping their families survive. These children weren’t thinking of becoming chemists; they were focused on simply surviving each day.

In 2021 Family Humanitarian drilled a borehole for the community around Aaron’s school, providing access to clean water for over 1,000 people. The children in the area are now healthier and can spend more time at school instead of walking long distances for water. The student body has grown to nearly 900! Since the school has proven to be self-sustaining, Family Humanitarian is helping them accommodate the growth by building new classrooms complete with desks and chairs. The children in this community are not just surviving; they are thriving. They are dreaming of their futures and preparing for them! They expressed this perfectly when they sang a farewell song to us.

Plenty of education we are getting.

We are going higher.

We are moving forward.

We say thank you.

May God be with you.

Thank you for all you’ve done for us.

We are happy.

So we say “Hallelujah, Amen”.

I don’t know if Aaron will become a chemist, but I know clean water and education are making it possible for him to envision a bright future and to dream BIG!

Getting started on the addition to Aaron's school.

Desk construction at the school.

Volunteers working with the school children.

Thank you for your 2023 donations!

We want to thank you for your selfless donations this holiday season and throughout 2023. Your generosity provided clean water to about 200,000 people! We know there are endless opportunities to give, and we take the trust you place in Family Humanitarian very seriously. We are truly changing lives in a sustainable way. You can learn more on our website about how clean water changes everything at www.familyhumanitarian.org, and consider how you can help in 2024. Want to sponsor a complete water project and provide water for an entire community? You can do that by clicking here. All water project sponsors are connected to their project through pictures and video, and every single dollar donated goes directly toward projects thanks to a generous donor who covers all overhead.