While people can live without a lot of things, water is not one of them. Water Wellness Mission was founded to help people who do not have clean water, or have no water at all.
It’s hard to believe a mere 12 miles from Kiawah and Seabrook Islands, places where people dream to live, we have an island called Wadmalaw with 2,800 folks and over 26% live in deep poverty. Most of the homes are female head-of-house, many with disabled and senior members living in the house, and many without clean water. This has been the case for decades.
This is where Water Wellness Mission steps in. As part of the Sea Island Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF), a 501c3 non-profit located on Johns Island, SC. our mission is to Fight Island Hunger With Healthy Food and Clean Water One Meal At A Time on Wadmalaw and Johns Islands.
There has been little hope in the past, with little assistance from the local governmental authorities to address this dire issue. The local water municipality has determined the costs are too great to install water lines to this sparsely populated, beautiful barrier island. Many families have no means to replace their old rusty wells so they do without clean water. Some suffer health issues from the contaminates in their water. Many buy bottled water weekly for drinking and cooking, which they can ill-afford, and some haul water from their neighbor’s house. This makes living conditions unimaginable. But these happy, humble people have had no choice for years so they find a way.
To address this need, Water Wellness Mission was founded in February, 2016 by SIHAF to organize and manage an effort to bring clean water to as many families as giving would permit, drilling one new well at a time. Now through the generosity of many, Water Wellness has grown rapidly, raising enough funds to help 61 families obtain new wells in just the last 2 1/2 years.
The total cost for a new well and water filtration system is approximately $6,000. Donations are coming from individuals, family foundations, local civic and municipal organizations, and local charitable giving groups. Over 98% of our donations go directly to the people in need of clean water. While there are many great organizations helping many wonderful causes for the less fortunate on our islands, no need can be more important than providing clean water. Imagine going without water for a day in our household, or drinking contaminated water riddled with iron and rust.
An estimated 200 additional families live without clean water and need our help. Our all-volunteer organization is on a mission to raise $1 million. We have secured 40% of those funds thus far, but there are many more families who need our help and your donation.
For information on Water Wellness Mission or learn how to get involved, please visit our website FightislandHunger.org or get contact us!
Bill Britton, 843.421.6360, bill.britton@nvrealtygroup.com
John T. Carpenter, 309.648.8249, jtcarpenter1313@gmail.com.
–Submitted by Bill Britton