Newsletter   October, 2024         How Clean Water Reduces Food Scarcity: Water access improves crop production and food supply but how?       Last year, Executive Director Susanne Wilson visited the rural communities in Tigray just a few months after the peace treaty there was issued, ending an over three-year civil war. Susanne visited the communities to assess the damage to the wells and secure a rehabilitation plan. Through her various visits with the communities, it was clear that famine, drought, and emotional trauma were at the forefront of post-war daily life. Although communities were suffering with very little, they graciously offered what little they had to welcome her.   Fast forward to February 2024 Community life was certainly improving. Susanne was greeted with traditional Ethiopian coffee, plenty of shiro, and injera. With over 500 rehabs in place at the time, women were now able to foster income-generating activities like basket weaving rather than walking for miles or digging for hours to collect water. The children were once again in school, and the men could now graze the animals and tend to their farms. The vast improvement here proved that clean water access is directly linked to reduced poverty and disease, food availability, education, and overall quality of life. When you support clean water initiatives, you are indirectly supporting these causes as well.     Maternal Clinic Update: Generous grant funding supported clean water initiatives for 34 rural Maternal Health Clinics. These projects alone have benefited over 1,124,066 community members!     Three years ago we embarked on a journey to change even more lives through our Maternal Clinic grant funding project. But we never could have imagined this project alone would generate such significant life-changing impact to over one million people!   Learn More   2024 SoCo Pumpkin Patch: Thanks to your support, The SoCo Pumpkin Patch has successfully sold out of all their pumpkins!     Special thank you to Christ Austin for supporting those in need of clean water by donating a portion of their pumpkin sales to Water to Thrive's clean water projects!   Perhaps your recent support at the 2024 SoCo Pumpkin Patch has resulted in several extra pumpkins lying around the house. If so, click the link below to access a variety of tasty pumpkin recipes that are sure to delight you!   Pumpkin Recipes       Susanne Visits Shepherd of The Lake: This small but mighty congregation located in Loudon, Tennessee, has generated monumental global impact, funding over 20 wells with us in just eight years!     The Power of Unity   I recently had the privilege of visiting Shepherd of the Lake Church in Loudon, Tennessee, to share updates and express heartfelt thanks after their incredible achievement of funding their 21st well with Water to Thrive. Their united determination to change lives through the power of clean water has significantly transformed the lives of over 11,000 people. It was incredibly inspiring and motivating to connect with a congregation so deeply committed to helping those in desperate need of clean water. Their ongoing support continues to generate significant impact in communities across East Africa. It was a joy to celebrate their loyal dedication and partnership in this mission.   -Susanne Wilson   Click below to watch a short video. If you do not have the Dropbox app, no worries; simply select the option to view the video via your web browser.   Video     Just $10 a Month Provides Clean water to 12 people in one year!       The Water Guardian Program is an easy and flexible way to become a monthly changemaker with us. Imagine generating monumental global impact for the cost of just two lattes per month!   ~You Change Lives ~You Choose the Amount ~You Can Cancel Any Time   Learn More     Photo of The Month     This grandmother, living in Ewansamba, Uganda, stands proud and excited as her well nears completion. She is happily smiling ear to ear because she can live the remainder of her days free from the burden of fear that her precious grandson will lose his young life at the hands of a waterborne disease. She is rejoicing in her newfound faith in humanity, for caring, for giving, and for taking the time to consider the needs of those living oceans away.     Thank you and have a wonderful weekend! Image Below: Inflight Photo of Ethiopia, From Tigray to Addis Ababa.     I will sit underneath Night skies and breathe Holding in my heart the universe Every breath a bucket Drawing from infinity Endless, expansive, eternal With questions and curiosity   Some may stare at the emptiness And dismay at being small. But in all that space I am filled with the truth That I am part of something bigger.   -Marpheen Chann   ABOUT US WAYS TO GIVE BLOG       Change Lives and Connect With Us!

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