In May, Living Water International was among the 250 presenters speaking at the All Systems Connect 2023 International Symposium, presenting the impact of faith—particularly faith actors such as churches—within the WASH system.
Held in The Hague, The Netherlands, the Symposium rallied 700 change-makers and systems leaders from water, sanitation and hygiene, health, climate, economic development and social justice, including governmental representatives from 67 countries. The purpose of the Symposium stems from the notion that no single organization or leader can realize the transition from failing infrastructure to safely managed WASH services. Therefore, actors must come together as part of a determined intervention to change the way we work, to accelerate action towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and to promote water, sanitation and hygiene as a gateway to justice.
Ana Rivera, LWI’s Global Grant Officer, presented how an estimated 84% of the global population professes to practice or identifies with a faith tradition (data from external global report), and how faith certainly shapes community behaviors and worldviews in the WASH sector. The case was made on how faith actors should be recognized and included as an integral part of the WASH system, and how secular and non-secular institutions can engage with the local church. Flourish was presented as a model and evidence from the initial results of LWI’s Quantitative and Qualitative Church Monitoring and Study was highlighted, showcasing the impact of the local church in WASH interventions.
