(MissionNewswire) Students attending the Don Bosco College, located in Golaghat, Assam, India, have access to clean fresh water thanks to a recent water project funded by Salesian Missions donors. The project is part of Salesian Missions “Clean Water Initiative” which funds and initiates projects to bring clean water to Salesian centers and programs around the globe.

Don Bosco College provides a vital education and housing for 150 boys and 180 girls. The high demand for water has the college struggling to provide a sufficient supply. Salesian Missions funding enabled Salesian missionaries at Don Bosco College to facilitate a project that included drilling a borewell that provides adequate water for drinking, hygiene, and meeting the basic needs of those attending and working at the college.

“It’s critical that Salesian programs around the globe have access to safe, clean water for the health and safety of those we serve,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Improving water and sanitation facilities brings a sense of dignity to children and ensures that teachers and students are working and learning in an environment that promotes proper hygiene and has safe drinking water. This reduces the number of waterborne illnesses that can affect those in our schools, keeping them away from important study time.”

With more than 1.3 billion people, India’s growing population is putting a severe strain on the country’s natural resources. According to Water.org, close to 77 million people do not have access to safe, clean water and 769 million have no sanitation services. Most water sources throughout the country are contaminated by sewage and agricultural runoff.

While India has made some progress in the supply of safe water, there remain gross disparities in safe water access across the country. The World Bank estimates that 21 percent of communicable diseases in India are related to unsafe water with diarrhea alone causing more than 1,600 deaths daily. Access to proper sanitation is extremely poor, particularly in rural areas where only 14 percent of the population has access to a latrine.

In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions has developed a “Clean Water Initiative” that has made building wells and supplying fresh, clean water a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work.

India has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22 percent of the country lives in poverty. About 31 percent of the world’s multidimensionally poor children live in India, according to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. A multidimensionally poor child is one who lacks at least one-third of 10 indicators, grouped into three dimensions of poverty: health, education and standard of living.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Clean Water Initiative

Salesian Missions – India

Water.org – India

World Bank – India