Water impact report - Summer 2025

An update on MCC water projects

Churki Tudu of India and her daughter Promila stand in front of a submersible pump as they draw clean water from it.

India South Sudan — Aug 2025

menu_book Impact report

Water

August 01, 2025

Delivering a healthier future for every family

Your generosity is fueling change in rural India

In West Bengal, India, families struggling with poverty rarely have access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities. As a result, waterborne
illnesses such as diarrhea and dysentery are widespread.

For those who come from a lower caste, they face significant cultural discrimination because of their social status, and struggle to access support for basic health needs.

But with your gifts, MCC’s partner Economic Rural Development Society (ERDS) could improve hygiene and sanitation access for 1,793 people from six communities. ERDS took an innovative approach to teach families about health and hygiene habits, using game shows, discussions and folk songs.

With your support, a donated land pump has also been installed. This gives 54 families access to clean, safe water, transforming their health and providing the stability for a brighter future.

*Banner photo caption: Churki Tudu says that life has changed completely for her and her daughter, Promila, since your generous support provided a submersible pump in her village. Today, the pump draws clean, safe drinking water from a deep borehole. Because of this, Churki no longer battles waterborne illnesses that used to plague her family. (MCC photo/PO-Health/Sanjib Khan)

Waves of change in India

Monju Soren and her friends daughter, Promila (of India) collect clean water from a submersible pump. — Monju Soren and her friend’s daughter, Promila, collect clean, safe drinking water from their new community tap in Bagdighi, West Bengal. For Monju, clean water has dramatically improved her family’s health, and freed up hundreds of rupees a month that used to be spent on treating waterborne illnesses. (MCC photo/Sanjib Khan)

A mother’s pursuit of a healthier future for her family that starts with clean, safe water

For families in Bagdighi, clean water was available — but they couldn’t access it. Instead, people had to draw water from a contaminated shallow well, which led to significant health challenges like chronic diarrhea and stomach pain.

Monju Soren is a wife and mother of three-year-old Sonali Kisku, living in Bagdighi, a village in West Bengal, India. Her husband works as a day labourer in a nearby city and at local farms.

“We live a simple life, and things haven’t always been easy for us. Before, there was no clean water in our village,” Monju shares. “We used to drink water from a well, and we often got sick because of it. Every month, we were spending 500 to 700 rupees [approximately $7 to $10 CAD] on medicines. It was a big strain on our family."

With the generous support of donors like you, MCC partner Economic Rural Development Society (ERDS) installed a submersible pump in the village’s borehole to draw clean, safe water from deep underground up to the surface. A storage tank and community tap were also installed.

Now we have clean water to drink. Our health has improved, and we don’t have to spend so much [money] on treatment anymore.

Monju Soren

West Bengal, India

The ERDS team has also hosted community meetings to teach Monju and her neighbours about healthy hygiene and sanitation habits like how to keep their drinking water clean and maintain latrines. Currently Monju and her family use a neighbour’s latrine. With all she has learned, she is planning to take out a small, low-interest bank loan to build her own latrine for her family’s home.

“This project has changed the way we think. I believe my daughter will grow up healthy and with better habits than we had. I’m truly thankful to ERDS and MCC for supporting us and helping our village.”

Clean water for South Sudan

The front side of a latrine built in South Sudan by MCC partner ACROSS. — With your support, ACROSS constructed a new latrine at the school in Kapoeta East County South Sudan. Safe latrines are an essential component of hygiene — preventing the transmission of disease by flies and encouraging regular handwashing among students. (MCC photo/Nelson Mandela)

You're providing life-transforming access to water

In Kapoeta East County, South Sudan, daily life is shaped by extreme heat and very little rainfall. Access to water is incredibly challenging for many families.
Across the country, 5.6 million people need support to access basic sanitation — clean water, safe toilets and a way to keep their hands clean. Only 39% of the population has access to safe drinking water, and less than 15% has access to proper sanitation facilities.

Without these essentials, waterborne diseases spread quickly. When people get sick, they can’t go to school or earn a living. Without education or income, they can’t afford healthcare. Sickness gets worse.

And the cycle continues. Until someone steps in to help.

Because of your generosity, that has happened in Kapoeta East County. You helped break the cycle by bringing clean, safe water to families who needed it most and daily life is changing for the better.

With your help, MCC partner Association of Christian Organizations Serving Sudan (ACROSS) was equipped to:

Fix seven broke boreholes so that families can now access clean, safe water.
Host hygiene and sanitation workshops for 295 community members. From washing hands and handling food to managing waste safely, the participants learned the essential skills to protect and keep their families healthy.

To learn more about MCC water initiatives visit mcc.org/water.

Partner spotlight: Association of Christian Organizations Serving Sudan

In 1972, the Association of Christian Organizations Serving Sudan (ACROSS) was founded by Africa Inland Mission, Sudan United Mission, Sudan Interior Mission and Mission Aviation Fellowship. Since then, ACROSS has been diligently working with communities across South Sudan to build peace, heal trauma, build livelihoods and more. Powered by the global church and the local communities ACROSS serves, the organization has been a valued partner for MCC in South Sudan.

Your impact around the world

Access to water is a fundamental human right. Yet it is still out of reach for
many. With your partnership, we’re pursuing access to clean water for people
around the world. Here are a few examples of the difference you have made:

Initiative: With your help, 4,621 people are now benefitting from newly built water harvesting tanks, latrines, handwashing stations and change rooms in schools across the Kasese district of western Uganda.

Partner: Young and Powerful Initiative-South Rwenzori

Initiative: You’ve helped MCC’s partner harness the power of the rainy season in DR Congo. At a school in Kikwit, a new 600-litre rainwater collection tank is providing clean, safe water close to young students.

Partner: Community of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Congo

Initiative: Because of your generosity, four new water access points with handpumps have been installed throughout the remote communities of Caia and Marromeu.

Partner: Christian Council of Mozambique

Initiative: With your support, MCC’s local partner replaced 15 water faucets at Abossa Primary School, ensuring more access to clean, safe water for students and staff.

Partner: Beza Community Development Association

A donor's family legacy

Legacy donor, JoAnne Janzen, sits in a booth with mug in hand. — “I support MCC with all my heart,” reflects JoAnne Janzen. To honour the life-changing support her own mother received from MCC as a child, JoAnne has left MCC a gift in her will.

As a child, JoAnne Janzen’s mother was provided meals at an MCC soup
kitchen in southern Russia (present-day Ukraine) in the 1920s. This personal family connection to MCC instilled a deep sense of gratitude in JoAnne and a commitment to support the organization.

To honour her family’s history, JoAnne has left a gift in her will for MCC. Through her thoughtful generosity, JoAnne will continue to make a difference beyond her lifetime, reaching people around the world with the same compassionate, practical help her mother received over a century ago.

Learn more about how you can leave MCC a gift in your will at mcc.org/legacy