This Friday, Faith Today has a unique opportunity to visit the work in the field of one of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s affiliates, Samaritan’s Purse.
This Friday, Faith Today has a unique opportunity to visit the work in the field of one of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s affiliates, Samaritan’s Purse.
School children will have access to a dependable source of clean, safe water.
I am joining a team of other Canadian volunteers to travel to Cambodia on a Water for Kids project. We will be camping out — literally camping out (and that means tents) — at a school where we will install water filters paid for by the team itself. Each of these specially adapted filters can meet the U.N.-established daily water needs of about 250 children.
The ingenious BioSand filters are used by many organizations around the world, to provide low-tech solutions to bad water in communities. And it is a Canadian-made solution (invented by retired University of Calgary professor Dr. David Manz) adapted from ancient ways of cleaning water using sand and other natural materials.
In Cambodia, Samaritan’s Purse Canada has partnered with a number of local organizations to build and install more than 122,000 BioSand Water Filters since 1999.
Our team will also be working with school-children to have some fun and educational opportunities. Hint: I’m buying face paint later today to take along. We will also witness some of the work to fight human trafficking that Samaritan’s Purse does in Cambodia, a country tragically known for its high rates in trafficking.
At this moment, my back pack is empty and my pile of clothing is way too tall. I need to get pruning and packing.
I’m looking forward to this trip: for the people I will meet both on the team and on the ground; to be the eyes and ears of readers who wish to understand this part of the world and this type of life-saving water work undertaken by so many EFC affiliates; to be an observer and participant in a short-term mission trip; and I’m looking forward to writing what I hope will be some gripping stories when I return.
Karen Stiller is a senior editor of Faith Today. Faith Today’s story about “A Visit to the World’s Newest Country” won the 2012 A.C. Forrest Memorial Award for excellence in religious journalism, and involved another overseas trip by Faith Today staff. Subscribe nowto not miss a single story.