Harvest Appeal 2020
Give the gift of clean water
Now more than ever it’s vital the world’s poorest communities have access to clean water. Without it they cannot wash their hands to protect themselves from illness and many struggle to grow food they rely on to survive.
In Timor Leste, a country that suffers very long dry seasons, lots of families farm for a living - but without a constant supply of clean water often their livestock die and crops fail. At a time when communities around the world are celebrating the bountiful gifts of harvest, many can’t grow enough to feed their families.
The communal water tank regularly runs dry in Felisberta’s village of Vatuvou in Timor Leste, so she must journey uphill along a rocky, dried-up riverbed to get water for her family. The gruelling trip tires her out, especially in the tropical heat.
Despite it being dirty, the water she collects is precious. “Because we have less water, we try to manage it – we use it for drinking,” she explains. “Sometimes the kids don’t take a shower or a bath for two days. We also don’t really wash our clothes.”
Having so little water also means Felisberta can't give any to her animals, so her only source of income is dying. “We don’t have enough [animals] to sell, so it's hard,” she says, "If we had water we could grow vegetables to sell."
Fundraising inspiration
Although your group may not be able to meet physically this harvest, there are still plenty of ways you can join together to celebrate and fundraise.
Request a free fundraising pack for even more ideas and useful tools to help you fundraise, as well as learn about the life-changing effects your gift will have on communities around the world.