Waterborne diseases put children further at risk

By October 6, 2010

Kenya (MNN) — Hundreds of children in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Kenya are at risk of contracting waterborne diseases. Many children are already ill with cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea.

When violence broke out after the 2007 presidential elections in Kenya, hundreds were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced. As a result, IDPs sprung up to provide people with a place to live. Many have yet to leave the camps.

There are 500 people in this particular IDP camp, and 250 of its children are at risk for water related diseases. There is no clean water available for drinking or for cooking.

Many factors contribute to the lack of clean water, but the main problem is waste management. The camp has no system in place for waste management, so garbage is left in heaps around the camp. The garbage has contaminated a nearby stream–the only source of water for the camp. Residents at the camp now have no choice but to drink the contaminated water.

Of course consuming polluted water is practically an invitation for disease, especially for children, but they simply cannot go without water.

Childcare Worldwide is already providing camp residents with basic survival items like rice and beans, but survival will be short-lived if no clean water is provided. Childcare Worldwide can provide a long-term solution to the sanitation issue, but they need support to do so. If you want to provide clean water that will greatly enhance the chances of survival for 500 people, click here and support this project.

Your gift not only will bring life back to many people, but it will be done through a ministry that preaches the Gospel as they provide care. Pray that as the people receive clean water, they would also be receptive to the Living Water, Jesus Christ.

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