World Water Day 2025 Raises Awareness of Global Water Woes

When we talk about the challenges families face without clean water, there are a few questions we sometimes receive. I’d like to address those here.

• “Why do people choose to live in villages that have no safe water nearby?”
  Most of the people we serve do not have much choice in where they live. Many reside in the same communities they were born in — villages their families have called home for generations. They do not have the financial resources to relocate to larger cities and towns where the cost of living is higher. At times, a desperately poor family might try to move away and seek better opportunities elsewhere, only to return to their village months later, having been unable to find steady work or afford the rent, utilities and food prices in more metropolitan areas.
  
  
• “Why can’t the local government intervene?”
  The answer to this question varies widely, depending on the nation involved, but it often boils down to a lack of available resources. Some of the countries we serve, such as Guatemala and Mozambique, are still reeling from lengthy revolutions or civil wars that destroyed much of their national infrastructure. Their limited resources are often devoted to improvement projects in cities with the highest populations — an understandable focus, but one that can leave poor rural families without aid. The people in these remote communities often do not have paved roads, safe shelter, hospitals, basic electricity, improved water sources or sanitation.

• “Why don’t people simply dig wells themselves?”
  It is an extreme challenge for poor families to install high-quality wells that will provide clean water and endure even through seasons of drought. Families attempt to dig their own wells, but in extremely dry or rocky regions, the water table is often so low that they are only able to tap the first aquifer, which can still be contaminated. Additionally, these hand-dug wells tend to evaporate during the dry season, when certain regions go many months without much rainfall.

It makes a significant difference when generous Catholics provide a professionally drilled and protected well. With a drilling rig, contractors can reach clean, abundant water far below the earth — a sufficient source that will sustain families year-round. These boreholes are then properly cased and sealed to prevent contamination. The water is tested to ensure its quality, and after all the work is complete, families receive education on how to maintain their wells and keep them pure for years to come. This is a level of quality that deeply impoverished families could never afford for themselves.