December 2017: Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Submitters Perspective

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Charity Water

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Access to clean water gives communities more time to grow food, earn income, and go to school—all of which fight poverty by God’s grace.

EDUCATION:  Clean water helps keep kids in school, especially girls. Less time collecting water means more time in class. Clean water and proper toilets at school are healthier for everyone. God willing people will have fewer sick days, and it means teenage girls don’t have to stay home for a week out of every month.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:  Women are responsible for 72% of the water collected in Sub-Saharan Africa. When a community gets water from a well close by, women and girls get their lives back. They can start businesses, improve their homes, and God willing, they have better futures. We pray for God’s guidance, may God bless them with the message.

The Charity Water organization presents this important fact: every $1 invested in improved water access and sanitation yields an average of $12 in economic returns—that’s huge. For every $37 donation, one person gets a supply of clean water for a very long time. The non-profit organization also assures us that 100% of your donation is used to bring water to people who are in need, and not used in administrative overheads.

[57:7] Believe in GOD and His messenger, and give from what He has been bestowed upon you. Those among you who believe and give (to charity) have deserved a great recompense. [57:18] Surely, the charitable men and women have loaned GOD a loan of goodness. They will receive their reward multiplied manifold; they have deserved a generous recompense.
God tells us in Quran that giving to charity will lead us towards happiness.

[92:5-7] As for him who gives to charity and maintains righteousness—and upholds the scripture—We will direct him towards happiness.

So, here is a great remedy for when we are not happy—do some charity. It doesn’t have to be a lot; it just has to be from the heart to please God. The reason we are happy is because God rewards us.

[16:128] GOD is with those who lead a righteous life, and those who are charitable.

[3:92] You cannot attain righteousness until you give to charity from the possessions you love. Whatever you give to charity, GOD is fully aware thereof.

Praise God for His signs of reassurance for our charity. May God accept from us.

Our first campaign was in 2011 and here is the summary of the totals for that campaign:

A: the number of donations was 121 (this means money was donated 121 times)

B: total number of people served with clean drinking water was 1910

C: the total amount raised was $38,205

If we line up the total number from A, B and C we will get: 121 1910 38205 = 19x 6,378,475,695. Praise be to GOD!

By God’s grace, the previous campaigns have shown the kindness and generosity of the submitter community by raising the following amounts:

2011: $38,205; 2013: $52,214.43; 2015: $39,479.77 (if you add up the amounts and divide by 19, one finds another sign, praise be to God).

The money collected went directly to opening wells in 17 communities in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Malawi in Africa. The lives of nearly 6000 people were improved with access to clean water. Praise be to God. Here’s just one write-up from one such community.

Thanks to you, this village now has access to clean and safe drinking water. Each family using the new water source contributed toward their project’s construction—a small fee, but one that helps instill a sense of personal ownership for the project.

Each family will continue to pay a small amount to use the water; the community will save this money for any necessary maintenance and repairs. Our partner has helped the community form a Water Committee, who will oversee the usage and repair of the water point. They even know how to do some basic repairs themselves!

The community has also been educated on safe hygiene practices. Since work began, 50% more households have latrines at home, which they constructed with their own time and materials. This shows how committed they are to improving health at home and in the whole community. Families are also using soap and clean water to wash their hands, clothes and water containers. These changes are already making a big impact -- within the first few months after the project was completed, sickness from waterborne disease dropped by 11%.

The people here, especially women and children, used to walk up to two hours to collect water for their families. Even then, each family member had to make do with about five liters of water per day for drinking, bathing, cooking and everything else. The water wasn’t safe to drink and often made people sick. Thanks to your help, people here are walking significantly less and waiting less time at the water point every day when collecting water. This means each family can now use up to 15 liters per person per day! Most importantly, the water they bring home each day is safe enough to drink.

Charity Water

The 2017 campaign just finished up at the end of September. It brought in $45,097 (if you concatenate the year and the amount, you get 2017 45097 a multiple of 19, praise God). God willing, this

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