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On average, World Vision reaches one new person with clean water every ten seconds.

 

Clean water + your impact this year

Every $50 you raise through Team World Vision will transforms a person’s life through clean, safe water.

This year, we are supporting water programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Menkao is a largely rural community on the outskirts of the capital city of Kinshasa. The community has few natural springs, and has suffered from a lack of investments in infrastructure. Our goal is to improve the lives of 13,834 people through access to clean water, and improved sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Only 55 per cent of the population in Menkao has access to clean water, and only 15 per cent can collect water within 30 minutes’ walk of their home. Women and girls, some very young, will walk for up to three hours to get water. This negatively affects their ability to work or go to school. Their long trek on isolated paths also increases the risk of abuse and rape.

Less than one in ten households in Menkao have access to latrines. This, along with a lack of proper hygiene facilities, causes illnesses such as diarrhea to spread rapidly, and with deadly impact.
 

What you are supporting

World Vision is working with the community to change this situation. Together, our goals are to:

  • construct four wells with water treatment and distribution systems.
  • establish water management committees to ensure the sustainability of the new water systems.
  • train 10 community members on manual and electric pump repair.
  • construct washroom blocks in three schools. The new washrooms will be accessible to children with disabilities, and will have private spaces to accommodate girls who are menstruating.
  • construct hand-washing stations for each latrine.


2018 Team World Vision impact

In 2018, Team World Vision helped improve the lives of 7,133 people in Mali, West Africa. Five boreholes (deep water wells) were rehabilitated and a mechanized water system was constructed. Community members were trained, and are now responsible for the maintenance of the water distribution networks. Two committees now carry out sanitation and hygiene trainings in the communities.

This was only possible with the support of Canadians like you through Team World Vision. The story of Chata (below) provides a glimpse into the changes access to water has made in Mali. Thank you for being part of the clean water story!
 

Chata – champion for water

Chata Mohomone, a mother of four, sells goods in a market in northern Mali. Business is good, despite seven years of ongoing conflict from rebel groups seeking control of the region. But Chata can’t completely shake fears that the continuing turmoil will affect recent gains—like the improved access to clean drinking water. She works hard to ensure progress continues.

Team World Vision funds helped restore boreholes in Chata’s community, making it easier and safer for women and children to access water. One of the boreholes is located at a school, and children now have clean water and hand-washing facilities—both key to preventing illnesses.

Chata volunteers in the Water Management Committee that oversees her local water system. She received training on how the borehole’s hand pump system operates and how to repair it. And she was taught ways to resolve disputes that can arise around water usage.

Chata is determined that the entire community take ownership for the success of the water system. As she explains, “That’s why we put a rotation system in place, so different members can take responsibility for inspecting and cleaning the different boreholes.”

About World Vision

World Vision is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Our staff work in nearly 100 countries around the world.

Everything World Vision does is focused on one goal: the sustained well-being of children, especially the most vulnerable. We are committed to serving all children, regardless of gender, religion, race, ethnicity or ability.

We work in five sectors: water, health, livelihoods (income generation), education and child protection. The work is supported by generous donors and governments around the world.
 

Our vision: clean water for all

Every child deserves clean water. It’s not only a basic human right, it’s an essential building block of life that allows children and their communities to survive and flourish. Yet more than 800 million of the world’s people lack access to basic drinking water services, and 2.5 billion people live without access to improved sanitation.

We believe the global water and sanitation crisis can be solved within our lifetimes. On average, World Vision reaches one new person every 10 seconds with clean water. Our goal, in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, is to provide clean water and sanitation to every person in every community where we work by 2030 — including those in the hardest-to-reach places.
 

When water is clean and safe

Clean water helps children to be healthy and well-nourished. It helps improve sanitation and hygiene, reducing the spread of diseases and death. And children are freed from the burden of walking long distances to collect this valuable resource, allowing them to make school a priority.

Through our work, we’ve helped 15.7 million people reach clean water since 2010. We have an even more ambitious goal going forward: between 2016 and 2020, we are investing US$600 million worldwide to reach almost another 20 million people with clean water in 36 different countries.
 

Our approach

World Vision’s community-based model means we are developing sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene solutions: Here are some of the ways we work:

team-world-vision-impact-2-farmers-Lesotho_800x500-(1).jpg Water

  • Wells are constructed using drilling technologies appropriate to the local context.
  • Hand or mechanized pumps (including solar-powered pumps) are installed to distribute water – either for individual home use, or to supply whole communities.
  • Rainwater collection systems are built to store and treat rooftop rainwater.


Sanitation

  • Latrines are built to protect people, water sources and the environment from contamination.
  • Communities receive training on the importance of solid-waste management.
  • Sanitation education helps keep the environment free of open defecation.


Hygiene

  • The adoption of handwashing with soap helps prevents the spread of illnesses such as cholera, diarrhea and Ebola.
  • Handwashing stations are installed—in homes, schools, community centres and clinics.
  • Training in good hygiene practice is delivered in communities, schools and health centres.

About Team World Vision

The idea for Team World Vision began in 2005 with one individual, Michael Chitwood. After a transformational experience running his first marathon, Michael asked himself, “What If non-runners could train to run a marathon while raising money to end global poverty?” He took the idea to World Vision and, together, they landed on clean water as the cause.

In 2014, World Vision Canada decided it was time to bring the idea north! 

Building on the US experience, we started with marathons. Canadians have raised funds for water projects by running in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Mississauga, Toronto and Ottawa marathons. Distance runs and ‘do it your way’ events remain an important part of our program.

In the spring of 2016, we became the first World Vision office outside of the United States to host a Global 6K for Water event. Six kilometers is the average distance a woman or child walks to gather water in developing countries. It’s also an easy-entry distance that anyone can do – running, walking, wheeling or even being wheeled! Last year the Global 6K happened in 23 countries.

The Global 6K for Water is now Team World Vision’s fastest-growing program. Last year, more than 2,700 Canadians did the Global 6K, raising $467,000 for water projects. Events range from small church fun-runs to city-wide events—with local businesses and institutions getting involved. This year, we’re excited to hold our first-ever large event in the province of Quebec, spearheaded by second-year medical students at the Université de Sherbrooke and a local church, Église Axe21.


Our Team



We are a team of two in Team World Vision Canada. Leo Tang worked for 25 years in the telecommunications industry before his life took a turn when he began leading a Fitness Ministry at his church. He saw how struggling and celebrating together can form incredible bonds that transcend age and demographics. This led him to join World Vision in 2014, tasked with establishing and growing the Team World Vision ministry in Canada.

In 2017, Brody Coles came on board. Brody had been a race director for multiple marathons in the Toronto area. First learning of Team World Vision in the Mississauga Marathon, he jumped at the chance to join the team and do what he loved – for a great cause. Today, Brody says he is most inspired by the commitment of Team World Vision participants.