The name “Healing Waters” came from the very first project we ever did in the community of La Victoria, Dominican Republic in 2002. Our founders partnered with the local protestant church to provide a tangible tool of safe water to meet the physical and spiritual needs of their community.
How a Simple Act of Kindness Changed Everything
The one thing the founders didn’t expect was the relational healing that this project would bring. The Protestant Church began donating water to the outreach programs that the local Catholic church was doing, and that simple act of kindness healed years of strife that existed between the two churches.
The Meaning Behind Our Name
The name “Healing Waters” represents our belief that the provision of safe water can be used as a way for churches and faith-based organizations to tangibly meet a need within their community while sharing about the Living Water of Jesus. Seventeen years later, safe water is still providing spiritual, physical, and relational healing to local churches and communities around the world.
In the community of San Juan Alotenango, Guatemala, 150 displaced families have been residing in a local shelter since the Volcán de Fuego eruption of last June. Unfortunately, the eruption contaminated the ground water and caused many cases of waterborne illness, especially among the children, preventing them from attending school. It has been a year since the eruption, but these families are still without homes and are unable to return to their communities.
Six months ago, Healing Waters partnered with the local church in San Juan Alotenango to bring our community WASH solution to hundreds of at-risk families. The community of 1,875 residents and displaced people received access to safe water and are learning about the importance of hand washing and how to prevent waterborne illness.
The number of families living in the shelter is slowly declining as they work to get back on their feet. The pastor of the shelter said he has witnessed incredible transformation in the children as they no longer suffer from preventable illness and are back in school.
Through serving their community, the local church has built the trust necessary to move beyond physical water to begin sharing about the Living Water. In the words of our CEO, Rob Anthony, Healing Waters partners with churches because, “the church has the trust and long-term presence in the community that is required to take ownership of the project and help it become sustainable over the long term, until it is no longer a project, it is just part of the community life and infrastructure.” We are so grateful to partner with incredible local churches that want to bring about transformation in their own communities.
Partner with Healing Waters through a Simple Act of Kindness
Will you join us in celebrating the restored physical healing in San Juan Alotenango and consider giving to our mission to help other communities in need? Healing Waters recently changed our fiscal year with an end date of June 30th.
While a majority of giving typically occurs for non-profits at the end of a calendar year, please consider making a fiscal year-end gift to help us finish the year strong!