Every Day is "World Water Day" for Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

March 26, 2012 - PRLog -- Although the United Nations decreed Thurs., March 22, 2012, as official “World Water Day,” every day is “water day” for impoverished communities across the globe. Readily available potable water is a pressing daily concern in such places as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Eastern Navajo Nation, New Mexico – all places the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur live and work.

At the Sisters’ school in Mpese, Congo, the Sisters and their students collect well water first thing in the morning for their daily needs. Once collected, the water is hauled back to the school and boiled in kettles over outdoor fires in order to kill off illness-causing bacteria and other impurities. It must then be strained through a filter. Only then, can the Sisters and their students take their first sips. Watch our 45-second video (shot on location in Mpese, Congo) that highlights the effort it takes to draw buckets of water from an open well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng7F9-awdwE&feature=results_video&lr=1&ob=0



The goal of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur is to provide the Sisters’ ministries in Congo with photovoltaic systems that generate electricity and provide a convenient water purification process.  Until then, the Sisters in Mpese and other African and South American locations rely on primitive purification methods. Since cholera and other water-borne illnesses kill millions of people every year – children are especially susceptible and succumb easily – easy access to potable water is crucial to a community’s health and welfare.

For more information about the Sisters’ efforts to provide impoverished communities around the world with clean water, see the stories in the latest e-newsletter “A Simple Sip of Water.” http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs020/1103923442549/ar...

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are an international Congregation of women religious, founded by St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816) in Amiens, France in 1804.  The Sisters are committed to making known God’s goodness through education in a variety of ministries on five continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. The Sisters work to change lives by a “fundamental commitment to stand with their sisters and brothers who live in poverty and accompany them in their struggle.” The Congregation staffs offices/centers in Rome, Italy, Namur, Belgium and Ipswich, Mass., USA.

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Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur work in 17 countries on five continents. Our mission is to address the needs of those suffering from systemic poverty and teach them what they need to know to live healthy, productive and faith-filled lives.