Dirty water kills more people every year than any form of violence, including war. An estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to proper sanitation infrastructure and more than 785 million people lack basic drinking water. This means billions are at risk of contracting potentially deadly illnesses and diseases, many of which are easily preventable with proper sanitation and access to clean water.

Having access to clean water opens a world of possibilities that so many people take for granted. For example, children in many places worldwide must travel many miles every day, foregoing education and childhood joys, to retrieve as much water as they can carry for their families.

Nepal, where several doTERRA essential oils are sourced, recently experienced a dire drinking water shortage. Villagers in Bhimsensthan had to travel to a public tap for water, hoping there would be enough, as the government frequently shut off the tap to ration water. During this shortage, the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation teamed up with CHOICE Humanitarian to institute a local water system, ensuring the villagers wouldn’t have to worry about the rationing of their drinkable water. This project supplies clean water for 200 homes, or about 1,200 people, as well as the Gokulanga hospital, municipality office, two schools, and the community center.

Similarly, the Nepalese village of Mahankal was struggling to obtain enough clean water to sustain its people. doTERRA and CHOICE Humanitarian worked together to bring clean water to this village, with community members helping install the taps, thus bringing clean water to 950 individuals, as well as local areas like a park, temple, tea garden, and community center.

In the small village of Tistung, 150 Wintergreen harvesters and distillers were also impacted by the water crisis. A similar pipeline project is underway to give these members of the doTERRA sourcing family and their village access to clean, usable water, with aid from doTERRA, CHOICE Humanitarian, and community volunteers.

Through the efforts of the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation, CHOICE Humanitarian, and dedicated volunteers, villages like Bhimsensthan, Mahankal, and Tistung will now have access to clean water, as well as peace of mind knowing they have a safe, reliable water source. These projects will provide about 500 families—nearly 2,500 individuals—with the blessing of clean, accessible water in their communities and a world of possibilities.

Learn more about how doTERRA is providing clean water and sanitation to communities in need at: https://doterrahealinghands.org/how-we-empower/people-communities/clean-water.