A Zambian girl shares a cup of clean water with her little sister. With your help, we can bring the blessing of safe water to even more families.
Thousands of people have seen their prayers answered thanks to generous U.S. Catholics who help bring clean water to Zambia. Right now, you have a chance to share that blessing with 33,452 more men, women and children facing waterborne illnesses and danger.
Many Zambian mothers have no choice but to walk miles to retrieve water from contaminated streams and hand-dug pits. Children lose precious hours needed for school, and the elderly are often left alone while families struggle to secure the things they need. With the support of caring donors, we can change this — bringing safe water, better sanitation and hope to communities in Christ’s name.
Since 2017, Cross Catholic Outreach has supported the important mission of providing clean water systems in Zambia. With help from compassionate Catholics like you, we can continue this critical mission. Please help quench the thirst of families still waiting for the miracle of clean wells!
Join us in blessing 114 communities with reliable water systems — and with the Living Water of Christ that brings lasting renewal and joy.
Cross Catholic Outreach’s long-term effort to be Christ’s hands and feet to the poor is reshaping the landlocked nation of Zambia. Our partnerships with seven local ministry partners have enabled us to install hundreds of sustainable water systems, benefiting many thousands of people — and we’re not done yet!
The benefits of this outreach go well beyond quenching thirst. In addition to filling cups with clean water, your donation will help support:
Equipped with clean water, families will be better protected and fewer children will face deadly diseases such as diarrhea.
With safe water closer to home, children will have more time to attend school and more energy to focus on their studies.
Future generations will be blessed as families grow crops, nurture their faith and spend more time together.
Long and grueling — that’s how Salome’s mornings used to be. In the darkness of her remote village, she would set out for the river, knowing her family’s only chance for water sat miles away. Sometimes, she had to wake her young children to help.
Every step on the journey felt heavy. Each bucket she carried back exhausted her arms.
“I would wake up in the middle of the night, rushing to the stream,” she explained.
She arrived early, desperate to collect water before it was gone — taken by other anxious mothers — and before cattle arrived, further contaminating the source.
Now, though, a new hand-pump well stands in Salome’s village, providing safe, clean water for her loved ones!
“Life is so different… I no longer walk a long distance to the river, my children no longer miss school, and I can manage household duties and participate in church and community activities.”
Clean water has upheld human dignity and restored health and faith for Salome and her neighbors.
“God Almighty has answered our prayer in this community,” she rejoiced.
You Can Fill a Family’s Cup
In some rural regions of Zambia, water is still something families walk miles for, wait hours for, and worry about every single day. While most people in Zambia’s cities have access to safe drinking water, millions living in rural communities still do not (Source: UNICEF). For children, parents, and entire villages, the search for clean water remains a daily reality.
Clean water can be the difference between sickness and health. It can be the deciding factor in whether a child can attend school or whether families have time to attend Mass and nourish their faith. Water makes everything else possible.
Cross Catholic Outreach and its partners hope to install 114 new wells that will bring safe water to communities in need. Will you help us reach our goal of $1,551,898? A gift of any amount will go a long way to change lives!
Partner Highlight: The Diocese of Chipata
Since 2017, Cross Catholic Outreach has closely supported the Diocese of Chipata in its mission to uplift vulnerable communities across eastern Zambia. By focusing on clean water access, the diocese has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives — protecting families from waterborne disease, improving health, and freeing up time for children to attend school and for parents to work and participate in community life. Today, this ongoing effort continues to help children grow up safer, healthier and better equipped to thrive.
Cross Catholic Outreach sends a test grant to implement water projects in five villages.
After the success of the test grant, a second grant is approved, blessing 17 villages with clean water.
Twenty more villages receive wells.
In addition to funding wells in 24 villages, Cross Catholic Outreach provides clean water for St. Francis Hospital’s dormitory. The Diocese of Chipata launches its own drilling company, Santa Maria Development Corporation, reducing the cost of these water projects and making grand efforts more sustainable.
To date, we have provided more than 300 wells, impacting 175,321 lives!
As clean water brings life to a village, Fr. Phiri shares the love of Christ with a group of children.
Bless Remote Communities With Brighter Futures
Water changes everything. It means a mother no longer has to walk for miles each day. It means children can stay healthy, remain in school and dream about a brighter future. It means grandparents are not left behind but can remain close to family and community.
In the Living Water of our Lord, we are called to care for one another. Your gift will help make that possible — bringing clean water, better sanitation and hygiene, and spiritual care to thousands of families in Zambia.
This is how we uphold the God-given dignity of each person, empowering our brothers and sisters in Christ to flourish and not just survive.
Give today to help bring hope, health and the love of Christ to those who need it most.
Naomi enjoys clean water from the new well and the opportunities it brings to her village during a borehole blessing in Nyakwalala.
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.
