Kenyan schoolchildren enjoy clean, abundant water provided by Cross Catholic Outreach.
Many African mothers start their day with a troubling question: “Where will I find water for my family?”
As Africa’s population has grown, water systems have not kept up. Aging, poorly maintained wells and pipes need to be replaced, and many communities rely on contaminated creeks and ponds that run dry. While the continent faces a $30 billion funding gap for safe water and sanitation, families in remote areas scoop muddy water from dry riverbeds.
For the poor, the impact is catastrophic. To quench their thirst, they endure waterborne illnesses, frequent medical bills, lost work and school days, and hours upon hours of standing in water queues. For all that, they must ration what they get, sacrificing baths and basic hygiene and having nothing to water the gardens they rely on for survival.
Since 2019, more than 1.5 million people in Africa have received water through our support, but much need remains.
Your generous support will equip the Church in Africa to bless impoverished communities with clean, reliable water sources that will empower families to thrive. Your gift will also fund other critical health programs of our local ministry partners and aid them in their calling to exemplify Christ’s love.
A gift of $92 can bless four people with clean, abundant water. Help us transform rural Africa and spread God’s love by meeting this urgent need!
In partnership with Catholic dioceses and missions in six sub-Saharan countries — Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Eswatini — we are fighting to bring health and hope to families on the margins. The goal: 209 community water systems that will serve as reliable, accessible, affordable, year-round sources of clean, abundant water. We will also fund repairs to existing sources, provide sanitary latrines, support vital medical services reaching remote villages and urban slums, and strengthen Catholic evangelization.
Your support will provide 209 community water systems ranging from low-maintenance hand-pump boreholes to solar water systems with storage tanks. You will also fund repairs to existing wells.
Your support will meet critical needs for medicine, surgical supplies, health worker salaries, HIV/AIDS treatment, maternity care, and therapy for children with disabilities.
Every act of kindness is the Gospel in action. In addition, you will provide Bibles, catechetical materials, lay leadership training and other support that will bolster the Church’s spiritual mission.
We’d like to introduce a few of the compassionate Catholic partners your generosity will fuel as they address water and health needs in sub-Saharan Africa.
Kenya
This Kenya-based Catholic organization is run by a Society of African Missions priest from Ghana. Since 2013, we’ve worked together to establish more than 100 clean water systems in Kenya, first in the Lodwar region, then in dioceses throughout the southern half of the country.
Ethiopia
Founded by the Congregation of the Brothers of Our Lady of Lourdes and working under the umbrella of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, this partner serves poor families in the vast slums of Addis Ababa. We have supported them since 2008, funding programs such as HIV/AIDS care, house construction, microenterprise, and water and sanitation.
Malawi
Located in northern Malawi, the Diocese Karonga is led by Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka. We have worked together since 2019 to bring holistic, Christ-centered change to the rural poor in this deeply impoverished region. This partnership began by bringing safe water to over 2,000 people, then expanded to include nutrition, medical care, education, agriculture, microenterprise and faith-formation programs.
Zambia
Located in eastern Zambia, this diocese is led by Bishop George Cosmas Zumaire Lungu and covers a vast area that has experienced a population explosion. We have supported this partner since 2017, funding water and sanitation programs in dozens of villages.
Aurora may grow up with no memory of what it was like to lack a safe, reliable water source. This precious little girl lives in Lushangonyi, a Kenyan village where a new water system was recently installed at the local Catholic church.
Aurora’s grandmother Agnes, however, will have plenty of stories to tell about the transformation our generous donors helped make possible.
As a small-scale farmer, Agnes needs a lot of water, but until recently, an unprotected river was her primary source. The journey was fraught with danger, and the destination posed multiple problems, including being a massive drain on her time. Saturdays were the hardest — long queues formed at the river, so even though the old source was only 30 minutes away, the wait could stretch for hours. For those who lived even farther, the journey itself entailed hours of balancing heavy jerrycans on their heads while navigating hilly terrain.
Today, Agnes is grateful to at last have access to a reliable source of clean, abundant water. She and Aurora have plentiful water to drink, to bathe, to cook, to grow their food, and to wash away generations of hardship. Your gift can bring this same transformation to more families in deep need!
A trek through Africa’s most remote, impoverished regions challenges notions of what humans can endure — especially during the dry season. As rivers evaporate and wells deplete, the poor scrape the last muddy, bacteria-infested droplets from hand-dug pits to quench their thirst. There is nothing for bathing. Nothing for cleaning. Nothing for crop irrigation. There is barely enough for drinking — and what they do drink makes them sick.
Tragically, in some ways, the problem has worsened.
Imagine raising a cool glass to your lips and getting a mouthful of salt. Even in areas less susceptible to drought, the intrusion of saltwater is wreaking devastation. This is especially true in coastal regions, such as the Diocese of Malindi in eastern Kenya, where the shrinking water table creates an imbalance that draws salt from the sea.
Many families tell stories of previously tolerable sources turning saline. Children recoil from the taste and develop rashes from bathing with it. The saltiness leads to cramps, hypertension, kidney failure and, ironically, dehydration.
As Africa’s population has skyrocketed, water systems have not kept up. Aging, poorly maintained wells and pipes need to be replaced. In 2020, around 387 million people lacked basic water access in sub-Saharan Africa alone (Source: UNICEF/World Health Organization).
This year, many African countries are sounding the alarm over what they say is a $30 billion funding gap for safe water and sanitation.
“The solution is not just to build more infrastructure but to build it better-designed for long-term use, with proper maintenance, monitoring, and efficient management,” one expert recently told Forbes Africa.
This is why our programs always engage the communities, encouraging and equipping them to take care of their water systems and gain the maximum benefit. Community participation can mean the difference between a quick fix and long-term change.
“The future of the Catholic Church passes through Africa. The continent is a spiritual powerhouse,” Stan Chu Ilo, an associate professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University, told USA TODAY.
Catholicism is surging in Africa, and that places us in a key position to create another kind of surge: increased access to drinkable water. As we raise support, our local partners pursue these steps to lift communities out of the water crisis:
Large water tanks, supplied by a recently installed parish water system, ensure schoolchildren have clean water in the community of Kamuwongo.
As the Church, we should be grieved by the suffering of our African brothers and sisters but also inspired by the opportunity to put our faith into action and make a real difference.
Giving drink to the thirsty is one of the Corporal Works of Mercy. Join us today in fulfilling that calling by empowering the Church in Africa to quench thirst, improve health, uphold the dignity of the vulnerable, and open the floodgates of a brighter, more prosperous future.
Use it for reflections and notes to grow in your spiritual life. You’ll also receive a prayer request form to mail back so that we can pray for your needs. In effect, this creates a spiritual bridge to connect you to our sisters and brothers in Christ in the developing world!
Cross Mission Partners also receive a semiannual Mission Update with news, insights and information about the good work and accomplishments made possible by your support.
Every dollar helps us bless the least of our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico & Central America and South America.
Thank You for Your Special Commitment to Serving the Poor!
It’s easy to shop through the Cross Catholic Outreach Project Catalog. Simply browse the categories and choose an item within your budget and close to your heart, such as Anti-Trafficking and Girls’ Rescue or Most Urgent Needs. Select and sponsor one or more of these gifts, and you’ll make a meaningful impact on the life of a needy child or family. It’s that simple!
Absolutely! Once you select your items, you’ll be given the option of sending an e-card or printing a customizable certificate. This is a meaningful way to share Christ’s love with others while also honoring friends and family.
We are a Catholic ministry that partners with bishops, priests, religious and lay workers to provide Food, Water & Health, Housing, Kids & Education, Women & Girls, Disaster Relief, Farming & Loans opportunities and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ to the poor and vulnerable in over 30 countries around the world.
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.
