Three critical elements are required for human survival: water, food and air.

However, many have to travel far to secure what we Americans take for granted every day. The clean, filtered water you and I watch stream into a glass from the faucet takes another person several hours to retrieve from a dirty swampy stream. When the water they drink is contaminated, sickness is inevitable and life becomes miserable and short. Without any water, the average person is likely to last only three days.

Since 2005, World Hope International has drilled over 600 wells in five countries around the world. In total, these wells have provided approximately 1/2 million men, women and especially children, with clean, safe drinking water. Given that every 15 seconds a child dies of a water-related illness, and that 6,000 people die daily from drinking unclean water, how could we not make drilling wells a priority for those in need?

On average, a well costs $8,500 to drill. You don’t need to be a geologist or a certified driller to provide clean water to a thirsty child. Anybody can help.