Safe water is about more than health: It’s an opportunity to care for ourselves, serve others, and honor God.
This October, our Mexico Health & Hygiene team had an amazing opportunity to connect with new schools in Rosalbali, Mexico. This allowed our team to reach more children than ever before with lessons on the importance of healthy hygiene habits.
Here in the United States, fall rings in the holiday season, bringing back favorite comfort foods and seasonal treats. From pumpkin pie and fall-flavored beverages to Christmas cookies, sweets are a familiar part of the celebrations.
For children especially, this time of year offers an important opportunity to reinforce healthy habits. From a young age, most of us learn the importance of brushing our teeth, washing our hands, and making healthy choices to prevent illness and tooth decay. However, these habits can feel so routine that we rarely stop to think about how much we rely on access to safe water and health education to practice them.
In rural communities around the world, access to safe water and health and hygiene education is severely lacking.
As of 2019, only 34% of rural schools have access to basic hygiene services.
Healthy habits need safe water
In the rural highlands of Rosalbali, families have historically faced limited access to both safe water and health resources. Without reliable access to safe water, even simple daily practices like brushing your teeth, washing your hands, or staying hydrated can become extremely difficult.
Families can spend hours each day traveling to collect water, often from unsafe sources. Because the limited water they collect is prioritized for drinking, cooking, and other household needs, little remains for basic hygiene. At the same time, using unsafe water for hygiene can increase the exposure to waterborne diseases and illness.
That is why safe water is the first step to building a healthier future.
Through Healing Waters International’s Rosalbali project, families now have access to abundant, safe water, giving them the foundation they need to practice healthy habits without worrying about the water they use making them sick. But having safe water does not automatically mean knowing how to use it to protect your health.
That’s where Health & Hygiene education comes in.
A Simple Gift of Health
This month, children in Rosalbali’s schools learned practical lessons about brushing their teeth, washing their hands, and taking care of their health. They also received something that may seem simple to many of us: a toothbrush.
For us, a toothbrush may be an ordinary part of the morning and evening routine. For these children, it represents an opportunity to put new knowledge into practice and develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
As a local Health & Hygiene leader shared:
“We have seen both children and women embrace the understanding that God created them and that caring for their health is a faithful response to His love. We are deeply grateful for the resources provided, which have enabled us to reach communities with such great need. The community is truly thankful.”
While sweet treats become more common during the holiday season, there is something more concerning than the extra sugar to be consumed: a child growing up without the knowledge or resources needed to protect their health for a lifetime.
For families in Rosalbali, having access to safe water means they no longer have to fear the water they use to drink, wash, or brush their teeth. Through Health & Hygiene education, children are gaining the knowledge they need to care for themselves and one another.
Because some of the most important things we can teach our children are also the simplest:
Brush your teeth. Wash your hands. Drink safe water. Take care of yourself and those around you.
These may seem like simple lessons, but they can make a lasting difference.
Safe water is a gift from God, and learning to care for our health and one another is one way we share His love.