Available Editions
This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Sariah Francis, Church News
Turning sea water into clean water, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently built five desalination plants on atolls in Kiribati, powered by solar panels. Kiribati is an country comprised of small islands and atolls in the central Pacific Ocean.
Partnered with the Kiribati government, the Church worked to install these plants over the past year, with five more coming in the next phase, according to the Church’s New Zealand Newsroom.
Before the desalination plant was installed on the atoll of Abatiku, residents used freshwater wells that were contaminated with sea water. Children would miss school because they were sick from drinking the water, said Tokabeti Teaeki, a school teacher for 7- and 8-year-old children on Abatiku.
“Now it’s so much better. The children play and drink and drink and drink the fresh water all the time. They just turn it on, and it’s there. It’s such a big blessing,” Teaeki said.
Another school teacher, Arati Raoboia, expressed her gratitude for the clean water.
“The water is delicious — it’s like the water we had to buy in the store for our little ones. If we gave them the well water, they would get sick. But now this fresh water is free,” Raoboia said.
The atoll also had huge tanks to collect rainwater. However, the tanks were often dry and empty.
Avia Teruruai is the caretaker for the desalination plant on Abatiku. He volunteers his time to ensure the clean water continues to flow.
“I do this because I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is what we do to care for our neighbors,” Teruruai said.
The solar-powered desalination plant is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Church and the Kiribati government to provide clean water to drought-affected areas, according to the Church’s Caring for Those in Need 2025 Summary. The Church sponsors efforts worldwide to provide clean water to those in need and worked with other organizations on 227 WASH (an acronym for water, sanitation and hygiene) projects in 2025.
The Caring Report outlined other places the Church has helped to provide clean water.
In the village of Villa de Santa Ana Nichi, Mexico, the sustainable drinking water system benefits 2,500 in neighborhoods, schools and a hospital. The system includes a long-term maintenance effort to ensure it continues to provide clean water for years to come.
Donations by the Church were made to a UNICEF program to provide safe water and sanitation facilities to schools across the state of Chihuahua. The efforts will help more than 1,000 students and teachers in rural and indigenous communities.
Another area that received clean water facilities was a village in Bolivia. In connection with supporting education, the Church worked with the Water for People organization to install bathrooms, hand-washing stations and safe drinking water stations at a local school. This effort has helped the school children have the opportunity to focus more on their education rather than hauling water before school from the river.
In northern Tanzania, the Church collaborated with WaterAid to provide more than 20,000 people with clean water through sanitation facilities in schools and health centers. The impact of these efforts allows women to feel safer in child birth and ensures they no longer have to fetch water from far away.
The Church helped other areas in Africa, such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia and South Africa, according to the Caring Report.
In Asia, the Church responded to a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hitting Myanmar and affecting thousands of people. The Church donated to international humanitarian centers to provide sanitation and hand-washing facilities along with hygiene kits for those affected. The facilities helped prevent disease from spreading and gave those affected a sense of security and safety.
The Church worked with the Samoan Ministry of Health and the Vaisigano Second District to provide clean water to 2,000 residents. They installed two 10,000-liter water tanks for a school and distributed over 200 water tanks to households.
After flooding affected the Greek islands in Europe, the Church worked with a mainland supplier to provide bottled water for those affected.
Style Guide Note: When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online Style Guide .
You are leaving the Newsroom
You are about to access Constant Contacts (http://visitor.constantcontact.com).
You are now leaving a website maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We provide the link to this third party’s website solely as a convenience to you. The linked site has its own terms of use, privacy policies, and security practices that differ from those on our website. By referring or linking you to this website, we do not endorse or guarantee this content, products, or services offered. If you would like to stay on the page you are viewing please click Cancel.
To download media files, please first review and agree to the Terms of Use. Download a photo or video by clicking or tapping on it. To download all photos or videos related to this article, select the links at the bottom of each section.
PHOTOS
