Shelter Now campaign helped over 30,000 people to access clean drinking water
The 150th well, which people in Germany have donated through the international aid organization Shelter Now, will soon be built in Afghanistan. Since 2012, families, schools, kindergartens or church congregations have pooled at least 950 euros each to provide Afghan villages and some schools with clear and clean drinking water. The 150th well is donated by the international soccer team of the Braunschweiger Friedenskirche with players from 13 nations. They come from countries such as Germany, Russia, Turkey, Syria, Nigeria, Argentina and Afghanistan.
“Access to clean drinking water is one of the most urgent development problems in rain-poor Afghanistan,” says German Shelter Now director Udo Stolte. This summer, too, the country is suffering from extreme drought with crop losses of up to 100 percent and water shortages. According to Shelter Now, the wells donated by Germans alone have so far given well over 30,000 people permanent direct access to clean drinking water. “They no longer have to carry water for miles or drink the often polluted water from the rivers,” emphasizes Stolte.
The ” Wells donate” campaign was initiated at the request of a family who wanted to give each of their three children a well in Afghanistan on their birthday. Shelter Now implemented the idea – the first three fountains bear the names of the children Salome, Natanael and Esperanza. Many Shelter Now donors have since taken up the suggestion. The wells cost on average 1,900 euros. If at least half of this sum is donated, the aid organisation will add the rest. “The donor can choose the text for the plaque attached to the fountain and receives a certificate with location information and photos of the inauguration,” reports Udo Stolte.
From the donations Shelter Now finances the necessary material and equipment for drilling and building the wells. These are created in regions in which the aid organization is already active and where the inhabitants report a need, such as in the provinces of Badakhshan, Kandahar or Kabul. There, 1500 students of the Tangi Gharo Girls’ School and their teachers were happy at the end of June: “In the past, we were often sick because we had not drunk enough. Thanks to the well, this is no longer a problem,” said one girl at the inauguration and thanked the donors.
Brunswick, September 12, 2018