From Abbotsford to Asuncion
Sometimes we can be so focused on the end goal that we don’t appreciate the journey. While we work hard at the office to raise funds and awareness for our projects all over the world, we can sometimes take for granted the process that it takes to get from beginning to end. Earlier this month […]
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Being Present in Lebanon
In the past seven years since the Syrian Crisis started, news of the ongoing war has been unavoidable. Uncertainty seems to be the only constant for refugees and yet, there is still a strong spirit of hope – participants on our most recent LIFE Team to Lebanon learned. For two weeks in May, seven compassionate […]
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Survival is No Longer the Goal
“I struggled to live. I had no money in my wallet.” Lucia, a resident of Mariano Roque Alonso, is a mother of two, Eladio, 7, and Mia, 6. Her husband lives with her and the kids, but she still carries the burden to provide for her family. Before she heard about Diaconia, Lucia worked as […]
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The Ability to Dream
Maria Carmen, 37, is the mother of three children (a 12-year-old girl, nine-year-old boy and one-year-old boy). Every day she leaves the home before 4 am to collect and recycle trash, leaving her kids with her mother. When she gets back to the house at around noon, she spends the afternoon cooking food, such as […]
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World Water Day: Time for Babies
To see the health a village, just look at the health of its children. In African society, the lack of clean water places a large burden on women because they are often tasked with the responsibility of collecting water for the family. So we were delighted when we visited the village of Kariakoo, Tanzania and […]
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Celebrating 1000 Wells in Benin
GAiN’s Water for Life Initiative has reached a new milestone – providing 1000 communities with access to safe water in Benin! This translates to approximately 1 million people who have now benefited from GAiN’s water program. The 1000th village to receive a well is Koudjinnada, approximately 90 minutes north of the largest city, Cotonou. Prior to the provision of […]
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Powerful Pascalline
Unsafe water can cripple. It will make people sick. According to WHO, 340,000 children die each year from diarrhoeal diseases due to unsafe water and poor hygiene and sanitation. The effects of waterborne diseases are evident. People are weaker and more susceptible to infections. Women like Pascalline, from the village of Ayedero Igbo Dogbo, Benin, […]
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Lives Changed in Liberia
When Ebola was rampant in Liberia, in 2014 and 2015, 4,810 people died from the virus. At the time, many people turned to the local witch doctor so that their family and loved ones could be protected from the deadly virus. Offerings of money, clothes and alcohol were given; most of these people died lost. […]
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Celebrating True Wellness
The village of Kouorou, Benin suffered from a lack of water, depending on their only water source – the swamp. The contaminated water from the swamp caused frequent sickness, meaning villagers would spend a lot of time and money in hospitals. “We would share the same water as the animals,” Marie, a village resident of 10 […]
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Transformation in Windjinnawa
Before receiving a deep-capped well, the villagers of Windjinnawa, Benin knew that the only water available to them was unsafe and could cause them to contract deadly diseases. Still, they drank the dirty water because they had no other option. “We used to get our water from the swamp,” Village Chief Jacques told the Water for […]
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