To address these needs, The King’s Storehouse has developed a clean water program which funds Water Projects, and/or provides Water Filters depending upon the need. Upon request, or when led by God to serve the people of a particular region or village, one of our first acts is to do an assessment and prioritize the needs to be met. Providing access to clean drinking water is often the highest priority in an area which requires we evaluate the quanitity and quality of water available.
In the event water is NOT available, The King’s Storehouse will initiate a water project which may include drilling a well, constructing a water gathering system to capture rain water, or installing a water line from a nearby water source such as a lake, river or creek. These projects are funded and managed by The King’s Storehouse utilizing local labor and materials as much as possible. We recently completed installation of a half mile of water line from a dammed creek in the mountains of Honduras, to the village of Potenciana.
In locations where plenty of water is available but it is unfit to drink, The King’s Storehouse distributes water filters and then trains the people on their use and maintenance. When our organization was first formed, we considered using bio-sand filters to elminate most of the disease causing bacteria, parasites and protozoa found in dirty water. However, we found these to be expensive to build, difficult to transport and difficult to maintain. After much prayer and consideration, we began purchasing and distributing a hollow fiber membrane filtration technology which has proven to exceed all of our expectations. These filters are the size of a salt shaker, filter water to the point one micron level which eliminates all bacteria, parasites and protozoa, are extremely easy to install and use, are guaranteed for life and cost about $50 each. These filters can filter 5 gallons of water in 20 minutes which will provide enough clean water each day to support 60 people. Since we began this effort several years ago, God has provided the funds through the generous donations of people just like you and as a result The King’s Storehouse has provided hundreds of water filters to people in 14 different countries around the world. Go to our Water Filters page for more details on this type of filter and some of the locations we have put them in service. We provide these filters free of charge to Christian mission teams headed into areas plagued by bad water and our only stipulation is that God would be glorified and HIS gospel spread to the ends of the earth.
Whether managing water projects, or providing water filters, we have found that it is extremely important that we allow the local community to invest their time and efforts in these undertakings so they will take ownership in their long term use and maintenance. Our goal is to create independance and self reliance among those we serve, and do so by giving them “A HAND UP” and not a “HAND OUT”. This approach not only cultivates community pride, and helps the people maintain their self respect, but also encourages them to become more self reliant. All too often well meaning people and organizations do more harm than good when they fail to recognize the importance of encouraging self reliance and instead instill a sense of entitlement through free handouts.