More than 4,500 children in third world countries die each day because of dirty water.

But they don’t have to die.

For less than $2,500, a well can be dug and activated that can supply clean water to a village of up to 1,000 people.

A year ago, three Troy men were staggered by those statistics and were moved to action.

Jason Jones, Derek Irons and Troy Weed formed a committee and organized a WOD for Water event in October 2012. The event was designed to raise funds for NeverThirst, a Birmingham based organization that builds wells in villages in third world countries.

“Workout Of the Day” (WOD) is a Crossfit term and the Troy fund-raiser was designed for participants to workout using “Jerry Cans,” which are the water jugs that are used in third world countries to carry water from the water source to the villages.

“This week, we received our final well report for our first WOD for Water event,” Jones said. “We raised $16,000 and that was enough to build six wells that will provide water for 2,500 people in India. That’s more people than in Brundidge, Goshen and Banks combined.”

Jones said the villages in India are small and the wells that were

 

 

built with funds from the WOD for Water Troy event will serve six villages that range in population from 200 to 900.

“The life of each well is 20 years so, the money that was raised here in Troy in October will have a long-lasting effect and lives will be saved,” Jones said. “What we know about the villages where those wells were dug is that the people were having to walk up to five miles to get water and not even clean water.

“Their water sources were old government wells that were uncovered and streams, creeks and rivers. Now, the people can walk steps and get clean water right there in their villages rather than having to walk miles to get dirty water and lug it back to the village in heavy Jerry Cans.”

As important as the water is, it’s even more important that the people hear the Gospel of Jesus through the churches in their villages, Jones said.

“NeverThirst provides clean water just a short distance from the villagers’ homes and partners with the local churches to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ when children and families come to the well,” he said.

The first WOD for Water Troy event in 2012 was a great success and much good has been done through the support and generosity of the people who participated.

Plans are underway to have an equally successful and, hopefully, a more successful WOD for Water Troy event in 2013.

The 2nd Annual WOD for Water event is set for Nov. 2 on the Bibb Graves Quad at Troy University.

“Participants will workout using Jerry Cans that weight about 40 pounds, the same weight of the water cans the people in third world countries have to carry to get water to their villages,” Jones said. “That gives the participants an idea of the effort it takes for the villagers to get water.”

Jones said that participation drives the WOD for Water event.

“This is a fund-raiser so the each person pays to participate,” he said. “For the first event, we had 70 people to work out and that was great. But we are hoping for even more this year.

“We also have sponsors, which are local businesses, for the event. The more support we have the more money we can raise and the more wells that can be dug.”

To increase the avenues of support for the second event, the WOD for Water committee is planning a “Walk for Water” event for those who want to participate without the Jerry Can workout.

“The Walk for Water will open the event up to more people and should be a lot of fun,” Jones said. “We are working on the fees for both events and we hope that everyone will participate in some way.”

Nobody should have to drink dirty water, Jones said. “But children are dying every day from dirty water. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if we can help it.”