Article written by Lexi Baysinger. Media by James Menk.
It’s a global problem. However, in western culture, most people have access to the medical advances that can help combat this affliction. HIV/AIDS is impacting the entire continent of Africa in a terrible way and they don’t have all the resources, resources including clean water, to fight off the dangers of HIV/AIDS. But an organization arose called Blood: Water Mission in order to help African nations to work together to solve the HIV/AIDS and water crisis.
Blood: Water Mission’s goal is to work together with communities in Africa to help them develop technologies to provide clean water for towns. Providing clean water is important because when a person infected with HIV/AIDS drinks dirty water, it can cause them more problems than just having the disease. Since HIV/AIDS affects the immune system, when bacteria-filled water gets into a their system, it causes people to become sicker than people without HIV/AIDS otherwise would. Clean water allows them the chance to minimize the effect that HIV/AIDS has on their lives. When people have the access to clean water, it means that their body has less to fight off along with the disease that is causing their immune system to deteriorate.
After reading a bit about Blood: Water Mission, it’s clear that this is more than just a charity. This is an organization that actually believes in working together with African communities, not just throwing money at them. One of their guiding principles is that they believe in coming along side the people they are serving and creating relationships with them in order to learn how to best help them. They understand that the people in Africa can’t wait for a big corporation to send help; it has to come from regular people. They understand that it is the job of the church to help those in need, but also recognize the fact the church, as a whole, isn’t doing much to help those with HIV/AIDS in Africa. It’s up to the people in the church to take a hold of the situation and start to reach out to people instead of waiting for the church to take steps for them.
People like you and me. Blood: Water Mission relies on the basic goodness of regular people. Jars of Clay, a band that started out here at Greenville College, founded this organization. They took a risk in creating this organization and are asking us to do the same. According to bloodwatermission.com, $1 will provide an African with clean water for an entire year. To be involved with the organization, go to their website’s community page to donate to the cause. You can also check out the Take Action tab on their website to look at different ways to join in on their cause.
