While Ecuador has made huge strides in building its infrastructure, only about 50 percent of rural Ecuadorians have access to an improved drinking water source. Many of these residents resort to using contaminated water, often resulting in disease and even death. Others spend hours each day hauling water from distant sources, expending valuable resources.

While Ecuador has made huge strides in building its infrastructure, only about 50 percent of rural Ecuadorians have access to an improved drinking water source. Many of these residents resort to using contaminated water, often resulting in disease and even death. Others spend hours each day hauling water from distant sources, expending valuable resources.

In an effort to address this problem, HCJB Global Hands operates a Clean Water Projects outreach that began in Ecuador in 1980, utilizing funds from individual donors, churches, governments and collaborating charitable organizations. The outreach dovetails well with World Water Day, designated by a U.N. General Assembly resolution and celebrated annually on March 22 since 1993.

"Our goal is to facilitate the success of communities desiring to develop their basic infrastructure necessary for a healthy environment," said HCJB Global missionary Bruce Rydbeck who directs Clean Water Projects, a ministry of the mission's Vozandes Community Development department.

"Development flourishes and health is improved by implementing biblical values," he added. "Training in water system management and hygiene are integral to the program as are evangelism, discipleship and pastoral training."

Rydbeck emphasized that each benefiting community is required to provide manual labor, local materials and some of the finances for their project. The communities also build their own latrine and participate in hygiene sessions to receive the collaborative help from HCJB Global Hands.

"The local people work in the hot sun, frigid cold and pelting rain to dig many miles of pipe trench more than a yard deep by hand," he explained. "They haul tons of cement, sand and stone to remote building sites. They solve difficult construction issues with minimal resources.

"As a result, the sense of pride and ownership runs deep when they complete the project, providing clean water and sanitation at each home. They know that God empowers us when we harmonize our plans with his desires."

This year HCJB Global Hands is collaborating with a dozen Ecuadorian indigenous communities to improve health and infrastructure for more than 1,000 homes. These include Quichua communities in Chimborazo province, Shuar communities in Morona Santiago province and Chachi communities in Esmeraldas province.

Lupaxi Grande, a remote Andean village with humble adobe and cement-block dwellings nestled among verdant fields of barley, potatoes and quinoa, is an example of a Quichua community that has benefited from this program.

More than 100 homes now receive clean, protected spring water pumped at high pressure to the highest homes, 650 feet above the spring. HCJB Global Hands helped with the technical design, secured donations for the pipe and pumps and discipled the local leaders.

At the colorful inauguration ceremony, everyone in the village gathered to celebrate the community's first water system. The 3½-hour ceremony included speeches, prayers, songs and acknowledgments. Rydbeck took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and preached. Culminating the ceremony, 300 Quichua people shared a meal of quinoa soup, fava beans, corn, cheese and guinea pig, cooked over wood fires.

Why were the people so excited? "To complete the project, every family had sacrificed 60 days of arduous manual labor to build four concrete reservoirs and dig more than six miles of four-foot-deep pipe trench, providing clean spring water to each home," Rydbeck explained. "Imagine having to lug all the water for your family uphill the equivalent of a 67-story building every day!"

A local pastor commented, "Until recently, we rose every day at 3 a.m. to haul water from the contaminated stream for our household use! Now we have both the living water that Jesus gives and clean water that will improve our health."