Newbreak Church is providing clean water for the entire Namosi province of Fiji.

In February of 2021, Newbreak Church’s vision of giving clean water to an entire province in the country of Fiji was about to come true through a long-term partnership with the non-profit Give Clean Water and Fiji Ministry of Maritime and Rural.

Give Clean Water has been serving in the country of Fiji since 2008 providing clean drinking water solutions in the rural communities through the use of Sawyer water filters. Give Clean Water got its start right out of Newbreak Church when Newbreak’s missions pastor Darrel Larson founded Give Clean Water. Since then, Newbreak has funded clean water for thousands of families in Fiji, The Solomon Islands, and Haiti.

Taking on an entire Province is no small task. There are 2,000 homes representing 10,000 people that live in the Namosi Province. Namosi is lush and full of very challenging terrain. Most people in Namosi do not have access to clean water and draw their water supply from rivers, creeks and open wells. 

We broke our own goal.

As a part of Newbreak’s Kingdom Builders outreach, Newbreak set a goal of raising $100,000 in the month of February to bring clean water to all of Namosi. Give Clean Water can supply a 10+ year sustainable clean water supply for just $10 per person, or $50 per family. For $3,000, and entire village can get clean, bacteria free water. At the end of the KB campaign, Newbreak raised $110,000 towards this effort! Next came the extra surprise.

What impact did we have?

It turns out, Give Clean Water was able to triple the impact of Newbreak’s generous donation by getting a matching grant from another Foundation, along with matching funds from the Fiji Ministry of Rural and Maritime. Not only will all of Namosi get clean water but Give Clean Water will move into the other 4 provinces of the main island of Fiji where 70% of the population of Fiji exists. Most people don’t know this, but Fiji has 322 islands in the chain, with 110 being inhabited. 

Through its commitment to sustainability, training best practices, and data monitoring and evaluation, Give Clean Water’s projects consistently create positive impact in communities without access to clean drinking water. Through third party, University led analysis, Give Clean Water demonstrated that the installation of a Sawyer filter provides a monthly savings of $52.96 per month when factoring in purchased water savings, medical savings, and workdays recaptured by adults. In addition, diarrhea rates dropped from 21% to 1% using Sawyer filters. 

All of the Give Clean Water staff in Fiji come from Newbreak’s sister church in Fiji, Anand AoG church. This partnership allows for a very tangible expression of God’s love to the communities in which Give Clean Water serves. Over the years, Give Clean Water has partnered with the Fiji Ministry of Health to identify villages with waterborne sickness outbreaks. In 2013, a MOU was established between these two organizations, and that partnership continues to flourish. 

A new additional partnership with the Fiji Ministry of Maritime and Rural brings a renewed focus on bringing border-to-border clean water to all 110 inhabited islands of Fiji. The Namosi Province project will kick off the last week of April 2021, just in time for the welcoming of Fiji’s dry season where the work can flourish without the threat of torrential rain and cyclones. This project is a great example of what Kingdom Builders is doing to transform lives around the world.