hygiene Archives - Cross International

The power of education transforms lives

October 26, 2020 by Cross International

A 2018 study from the UNESCO UIS reported that about 263 million children worldwide (or one in every five) are not in school. The UIS figures confirm that across sub-Saharan Africa one in every three children are out of school – with girls more likely to be excluded than boys. For every 100 boys of primary school age out of school, there are 123 girls denied the right to education.

Together with our ministry partners, our school programs seek not only to provide a place to learn, but to serve as a pillar in a community that offers a stable food supply, a community shelter for emergencies, and a space to find good counsel, learn about the gospel, and find hope. Our philosophy is that an integrated Christian education is more than teaching children about Jesus and His ministry, it is laying the groundwork for a commitment to lifelong learning and service.

Our Thriving Kids educational initiatives help fill the minds, hearts, and bellies of children around the world.

Our education programs include:

Primary school/elementary school services
School operations are funded so children can attend for free or nearly for free. Most of these programs include a nutritional program or food assistance.
Educational infrastructure support
Beyond just funding tuition, Cross supports educational programs in other ways – helping with stocking libraries, new technology in classrooms, repair and construction of school buildings, and paying staff salaries.
Supporting higher learning
Cross increasingly shifts our focus to include how students are best served after completing primary education, like technical/vocational training.
Providing for unique educational needs
To support the full spectrum of educational needs to those facing the challenges of systemic poverty, we support unconventional and unique situations. Some of these have included a night school program for teens who must work during the day, providing support for children with disabilities, support for court-appointed orphans, and adult literacy programs.

With support from our generous donors, Cross International provided grants to 11 programs, supported 83 schools, and provided education to 7,222 students in 2019. We employed 249 teachers and 147 staff members, purchased 1 support vehicle and built 1 school.

Right now, COVID-19 threatens the stability that children find by impacting access to school and in turn, availability of food and hygiene education. In response to COVID-19 in Haiti, we have distributed 54,000 fortified rice meals to 500 children and their households at local school partners. We remain hopeful as we continue to provide emergency hygiene training, food, and technology to communities we serve.

We pray you’ll join us in this mission.

Education helps children rise up from pain into purpose.

Join our mission

God provides life-sustaining water in Zambia

August 6, 2020 by Cross International

The room was dark and still as she quietly gathered her things. Janet looked back over her shoulder at her sleeping family and ventured out under the inky black African sky. She had to get moving. The journey to collect water from the distant river where cattle, pigs, and wild animals also drank took over 90 minutes. Janet wanted to be one of the first women in line to avoid a long wait and the hot, rising sun. As she slowly carried the sloshing water jugs miles back home to Mgombela Village, her forehead creased with worry for the health of her infant daughter and husband. The river was contaminated and villagers would often get ill from the water.

Wake, rise, walk, collect, carry.

Like so many women, this was Janet’s routine for collecting water for her family–sometimes repeating it more than once a day. Until Cross International partner Kachere Development Programme (KDP) in Zambia announced that a new water system was to be installed in her community.

Janet, an enthusiastic and grateful young mother, rejoiced at the news and volunteered to be a member of the leadership team. Janet joined the Village WASH committee (V-WASHE). The committee is responsible for training the community about the importance of clean water, well maintenance, handwashing and the use of soap, and correct water storage.

Families that use the well pay a low monthly fee for the monitoring and maintenance service that the V-WASHE committee provides. For example, if there is a break in the borehole and pump, the collected funds will be used to make the repair. The water system serves more than 500 people.

Clean water is life
Without clean water, Janet, and mothers like her, would still be waking before the sun to walk long distances, share water with animals, and put their family at potential risk for illnesses and diseases. Contaminated water can make children miss school and mothers unable to take care of their children.

Now the women in Janet’s village have more time, literally hours each day, to manage small businesses to help put food on the table at home. They benefit from knowing they have value and are contributing to the care of the family. For young girls, a clean water source can mean spending as much as 25% more time in school, where education empowers a better, hope-filled future.

Clean Water partner spotlight: Zambia’s Kachere Development Programme

July 30, 2020 by Cross International

Imagine you wake up, shuffle into the bathroom, turn the handle in the shower, and then … nothing. No water comes from the faucet. What do you do?

You call the plumber.

Now, imagine you live in a small village in Africa. You wake up and walk an hour to the well that holds the only clean water source for miles. You fill your vessel and slowly carry it back home. Then you turn around and walk the same path back to the well. You do this morning after morning, all for enough safe water to last the day.

Most of us don’t worry about whether the water we use is clean or safe. For many in the developing world, finding a life-giving water source is a real challenge … with life-and-death consequences.

Cross International believes that water is life. We know that not only is a clean water source essential, but so is education around proper hygiene, sanitation practices, and equipment so the water remains clean from source to stomachs.

We are committed to working with our local ministry partners to do the hard work needed to solve these problems. One hundred percent of our clean water programs incorporate WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training to make sure local people know how to handle clean water appropriately. We also develop local leadership’s commitment to the ongoing monitoring and upkeep of the project’s work.

In the Eastern Province of Zambia, Africa, Cross International and Kachere Development Programme (KDP) partnered to provide a bore hole for access to clean water in the village. To avoid the underlying issues of illness that stem from contaminated water, we also established the Village WASH (VWASH) program to train local leaders on health and hygiene. Leaders take what they learn and bring ownership and knowledge of best practices to their community so clean water remains sustainable.

The training covers:

The importance of keeping the borehole surroundings clean
Diseases caused by drinking dirty water
The value of good hygiene and sanitation
Basic maintenance of the borehole
Income-generating business ideas related to the sustainability of the borehole maintenance
Roles of the WASH committee members
Biblical principles of the Water for Life Project

With our partner, KDP, we continue to identify remote villages that have no clean water options other than an open pit or river often contaminated and shared with animals. We rely on local information when deciding to invest into a new community well, and self-help groups formed by women in the rural villages help select well and borehole locations. More villages are reached, more villages and lives are served.

In Zambia, our partnership with KDP has impacted 22,200 households with access to clean, safe and sufficient drinking water. We equipped 780 VWASH committee members with knowledge on health, water and sanitation. Through increased media visibility of the program, 62,000 people have received health education information through community awareness meetings and radio programmes in five chiefdoms of Chipata Kasenengwa and Chipangali District of Eastern Province. Without the task of fetching water for hours a day, thousands of mothers have time for activities that could help their households survive and children can remain in school.

Where water flows, so does opportunity. For so many vulnerable families around the world, getting clean water isn’t as easy as turning on the faucet. With ongoing support from our generous donors, we can help our local ministry partners transform lives from deepest need into thriving joy with clean, life-giving water.

Our Philosophy: The life-giving power of clean water

July 9, 2020 by Cross International

In everything we do, we seek to serve the whole person: physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. Whether addressing the needs of a vulnerable child, the challenges facing a family in poverty, or the issues preventing a community from thriving, we deal with specific problems with the understanding that each issue interacts with and impacts others. In this series, we focus on one specific facet of the complex challenges facing those in need around the world.

“Water is life.” Most of us would agree with that statement without even thinking. That’s actually very telling: most of us haven’t had to worry about whether the water we use is clean or safe. The truth is, clean water is life. Unfortunately, for many in the developing world, finding a life-giving water source is really hard…with life-and-death consequences. For Cross International, there are few issues more critical to address in the communities we serve than clean water.

According to the World Health Organization, 785 million people in the world lack even a basic drinking-water service. Of those, 144 million depend on surface water from rivers, lakes, or streams. At least 2 billion people depend on a drinking water source contaminated with feces. In these circumstances, the very substance that is supposed to bring life often brings death. Contaminated drinking water causes an estimated 485 thousand diarrhoeal deaths each year. Diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio lurk in contaminated water.

The impact of contaminated water is clear, but the issue is actually complex to address. A clean water source is essential, but to provide that water to a community, much more is needed. Communities must learn proper hygiene and sanitation practices so the water remains clean all the way from the source to a thirsty child’s lips. It must be carried, stored, and served in clean vessels. Maintaining a clean water source and equipment requires local leadership who are committed to plan for needed repairs…and the financial stability to pay for them. Providing clean water means understanding and addressing these interrelated issues.

Cross International is committed to working with our local ministry partners to do the hard work needed to solve these problems. When we commit to a water project, we rely on local information. We know our partners have evaluated the broader community needs and often have integrated programs in place. One hundred percent of our clean water programs incorporate WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training to make sure local people know how to handle clean water appropriately. We also develop local leadership’s commitment to the ongoing monitoring and upkeep of the project’s work.

Over years of successful clean water initiatives, we’ve constantly improved our methodology and our commitment to technical expertise with partners who truly know how to provide clean water…and all the necessary services that support it. Years of experience–and the benefit of monitoring the progress of water projects over time–have shown us which approaches truly bring life-giving health. Our goal is always to have a long-term positive impact, and we have learned that clean water is worth the investment. You get what you pay for, so we work only with experienced drilling companies who can guarantee their work.

The good news? Solving a community’s need for clean water has a huge impact! An obvious and tremendous benefit is the health of children and families who have access to clean water. The absence of the diseases and illness in contaminated water mean that these families are able to work, learn, play, and grow. Clean water access is particularly important for women and girls. Rather than having to walk for hours each day to draw and carry water, these wonderful women can manage small businesses and provide for their families. For young girls, not having to fetch water can mean as much as 25% more time in school, soaking in valuable education.

Clean water is life, and so many communities around the world still need its life-giving flow. With your help, Cross International is able to bring clean water to literally thousands of children and their families annually. We prioritize locations that have never had a clean water source. Will you join us in bringing life-giving water and the life-giving love of God to so many who still need our help? The positive impacts will continue for generations to come!