AFRICA
Kenyan children enjoy clean water provided through their local Catholic parish and Cross Catholic Outreach ministry partner Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services.
Water scarcity is all too common in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. During the dry season, rivers evaporate and wells run dry. Impoverished people with no other options collect muddy, bacteria-infested water from hand-dug pits. This water is not enough for bathing, cleaning or even watering crops. It is needed to quench their thirst, often resulting in illness.
As saltwater intrudes into water sources in Africa, many coastal countries are experiencing water that is becoming too salty to drink. Now the little water available causes a host of health problems, including dehydration, creating an even greater need for clean drinking water. And as Africa’s population outpaces its water systems, the number of people without access to water will continue to increase.
Donors like you helped bring clean water to nearly 600,000 people last Lent. But the need for clean water in Africa is considerable. That is why Cross Catholic Outreach is helping the Church in Africa fill the funding gap for safe water and sanitation by providing water and sanitation systems for 348,000 people across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, we will help our ministry partners support vital medical services in remote villages and provide Bibles, spiritual materials and training.
Your kind support will bless sub-Saharan communities with clean water!
We have a new 2027 Lent Activity Guide for you and your family to enjoy! You can download the free guide filled with kid-friendly crafts and activities or visit the guide online.
Watch this video to see the faces of people who have been blessed with clean water and learn how you can be a part of the Church’s continued plan to provide much-needed relief.
A gift of $91 blesses four people with a lifetime supply of safe, life-giving water!
When you put faith into action during the Lenten season, it can change the lives of families in remote African villages by helping provide lifesaving water. Join us in supplying clean water sources to mothers for their families and to schools for the health of their students. Your almsgiving will also support vital health and spiritual initiatives that will sustain bodies and deepen faith.
Your generous gift to this Lenten outreach will fuel the lifesaving work of Cross Catholic Outreach’s ministry partners across six African nations: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Ethiopia and Eswatini.
“The first time I got water from the new kiosk, it felt like God had just arrived. Life used to be hard, but now my children are clean, their health has improved, and I can collect water whenever I want.”
— Esther P., Kenya
“Before the water point was installed, we used to face a lot of challenges. I am very happy now to have the water point nearby. All the issues we had are now things of the past. When I go to church, I thank God for giving me life and also for the people who brought this water closer to my door.”
— Martha M., Zambia
“We are grateful. It came at the right time. It has really helped this hospital and the community we serve. We are really, really grateful, and may God bless you. I know it will go a long way in having an impact.”
— Christine, head nurse at Ikutha Hospital Maternity Ward in Kenya
Your parish’s almsgiving will set a series of steps in motion, blessing our brothers and sisters in Africa both materially and spiritually.
Work with local church leaders, chiefs and medical professionals to select the villages most in need of safe, clean water and conduct geological surveys to pinpoint ideal locations for drilling.
Construct 209 water and sanitation systems tailored to local needs, ranging from low-maintenance hand-pump boreholes to solar-powered water systems with elephant-resistant elevated storage tanks.
Support vital medical services, medicines, surgical supplies, mobile clinics, and salaries and local residences for health professionals in remote villages and urban slums.
Imagine being at school and knowing the contaminated water causes students to be taken to the hospital almost every day. That is what it was like for Shantel at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Mission in the Kanyangi community in Kitui, Kenya.
Thanks to the generous friends of Cross Catholic Outreach, a new water well was built here in 2025. Shantel, a seventh grader, finds it easier to focus in class now that her school has an abundant supply of clean water. The students can wash their hands and clean vegetables and are healthier overall thanks to clean water from their new well.
“I feel happy. I have strength and energy,” Shantel said. “Water means life, and it’s something that gives strength and makes you energetic. I’d like to say thank you for sponsoring the borehole and thank you for helping our school.”
With the Church’s help, more students in rural villages can improve their health through access to clean water.
As a gift to your family, please enjoy this free activity guide packed with kid-friendly crafts and activities for the 2027 Lenten season. Download it here or visit the guide online for family-friendly activities, crafts, liturgical readings, prayers and more!
Join us this Lent in fulfilling one of the Corporal Works of Mercy, giving drink to the thirsty. The support of Catholic parishes can empower the Church in Africa to quench thirst, improve health, and uphold the dignity of our vulnerable African brothers and sisters. You can help open the floodgates of a brighter, more prosperous future with life-giving clean water.
Susan, a Kenyan teenager, holds a bowl of salty water that she scooped from a hole dug into a dry, sunbaked riverbed.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
