Our vision at Seeds of Hope is to reach not just to the borders of Zambia, but to bring health and hope throughout all of Africa. Already we are seeing this happen as Seeds of Hope is becoming a center of expertise for southern Africa in household water treatment methods. We are being established as a training center to equip other organizations in Zambia and the surrounding countries with knowledge in water, sanitation, and hygiene training and promotion. In addition to organizations coming to us, SHIP has also traveled to Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda to do trainings. As we train organizations who then train others, the production and installation of bio-sand filters and the establishment of healthy water sources increases exponentially, bringing clean water into many more homes!
Approximately 1.1 billion people around the world do not have acceptable access to an adequate supply of safe drinking water. A child dies every 15 seconds from water-related diseases. (World Health Organization)Africa is in the midst of crippling poverty, the AIDS pandemic, malaria, and unclean drinking water, combined with up to 90% unemployment.
In Zambia, one in five people have HIV or AIDS. There are 572,000 AIDS orphans. Zambia is ranked number 13 among the highest infant mortality rates of all the countries of the world. Over 54% percent of children aged 3–59 months experience stunted growth because of malnutrition in Zambia.
Lack of clean water is at the root of many of these problems. Imagine that every glass of water you drink is a cup of sickness and disease. Diarrhea, headaches and dehydration are a common part of every day life. Cholera, typhoid and bilharzias outbreaks are commonplace.
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