Houay Lai is a small village in Laos nestled in the mountains near the Vietnamese border. For those who visit, it takes an adventure just to reach the village—hiking through hilly mountain trails and forging across rivers. Accessing water also involved lengthy hikes for the villagers, until World Renew staff facilitated the building of a water system in their community.

When the World Renew Laos team arrived in Houay Lai, they noted that villagers had to walk quite a distance to a stream to fetch water and this was especially difficult for older people, young children, and people with physical disabilities. One member of the team shares, “After bathing and washing their clothes, the villagers would then carry water back to their homes to use for cooking and drinking.” As the team met with Houay Lai community leaders, it became clear that one of the major desires of the community was to have a clean and easily accessible water supply.

The team discussed the next steps for making this desire a reality with the community. The community agreed to contribute wood, rocks, sand, and labour. The World Renew team coordinated the delivery of cement, pipe, and other materials that are not locally available, as well as technical help for construction and training on the maintenance of a water system. Before construction began, many of the villagers worked with the team to seek out water sources and together agreed on where to build the system, including the placement of the various tap stands throughout the village.

Many villagers are now growing vegetables near their homes throughout most of the year as the water system has made it easy to water crops. One man says, “This new water system has made a big difference in our village and lives.” This is a sentiment that the World Renew Laos team has heard villagers express again and again. Several parents have also noted that their children seem healthier than before. One mother says, “We are happy and grateful for this improvement in our daily lives which we had only dreamed about before.”

Globally, an estimated 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water. And as global weather patterns continue to change, for vulnerable communities around the world already struggling with water scarcity, finding clean water is becoming increasingly challenging as intensifying droughts dry up streams and floods pollute water sources.

Clean Water Sunday is July 17; please consider joining us and supporting our work. Through your donation you can help make the dream of clean water a reality for more communities around the world. To find out more about Clean Water Sunday and access our church resources, click here.