Praying for Children at Risk: Sanitation & Hygiene
Adapted from "Children at risk in the 10/40 Window," Global Prayer Digest, January 2001.
Water project in Central Asia
" . . . Doug has been able to share with many of these Muslims that Jesus offers them the gift of living water so that they will never thirst again."
Water is the basic necessity of life, and we who are blessed with an abundance of it often fail to realize how desperate is the plight of many people groups of the world who struggle to find it, transport it, and purify it. Such is the case in many Muslim countries in Central Asia. Some villages' infrastructures have collapsed due to a shortage of sanitary, potable water.
Doug (name changed), a full-time director for economic development in Central Asia, has been assisting villagers to learn to rebuild themselves into communities able to work together, be productive, and become independent. Doug's work is literally a hands-on project. He and others have hand-dug 20 wells 10-80 feet deep, lined the walls with concrete, and provided a system where the villagers could draw water from the well.
The project has included practical training for villagers to meet their needs for food, clean water, sanitation, health, and education.
Before this project, children were especially vulnerable since they were the ones who had to carry the water long distances. Life for both the young and the old has greatly improved in these villages, and Doug has been able to share with many of these Muslims that Jesus offers them the gift of living water so that they will never thirst again.
Lord, raise up Christian engineers who will share their skills and offer both physical and living water.-JS
Muslim Yemeni Arabs
Without a microscope, no one can see the germs dancing in each drop of polluted water. Those germs are a serious problem for the children of Yemen. Diarrhea is a constant drain on them and malaria is simply a part of their lives. These problems could be greatly alleviated if the people could be instructed in simple sanitation measures. They need to know that dirty buckets that draw water from the well cause sickness. They also need to understand that it is important to dispose of raw sewage and garbage in a dump rather than outside the doorway and in the street.
Officials in Yemen plead for health workers to instruct the people in basic sanitation. But there are not enough people to cover every community in this country on the Arabian Peninsula.
Children are important in Yemeni Arab society. Their inheritance is passed down through the sons. Daughters are valued because they bear children. Since the Yemeni people consider their children to be the greatest asset, they would probably welcome anyone who could help their children stay healthy.
Yemen is almost entirely Muslim and there is no Church for Yemeni believers at this time.
Pray that Christian health workers will be called by God to go to Yemen. Pray that Christians who hear of this need will respond in willing obedience.-RF
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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