No one—let alone a precious 8-year-old boy—should have to endure life on the streets. At Don Bosco Makululu in Zambia’s Kabwe district, Salesian missionaries help children like John rediscover their dignity and give them hope for brighter futures. And it all starts with clean water.

Access to safe water isn’t a given in the Makululu settlement—an area plagued by poor sanitary conditions, bad air quality, lead-poisoned soil, and other environmental injustices. In fact, the lack of a reliable water source for drinking is just one symptom of the region’s widespread poverty and despair that drives so many children like John out of their homes every day.

“With so few opportunities for education and employment here, families struggle to scrape by,” explains Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “Many rely on the informal economy to earn money—by selling fruits, vegetables and cheap imported goods at roadside stands. But the income simply isn’t enough to feed themselves or their families, let alone cover other basic needs like proper shelter or clothing.”

As a result, hundreds of youth end up homeless and fending for themselves. Some parents have no choice but to abandon children they can’t provide for. Other kids run away from neglect or abuse. That’s what happened to John, who took to the streets in search of food and comfort after his mother passed away and his father couldn’t care for him.

Yet the comfort he found was unhealthy and dangerous.

“During the time I was on the street, I was doing bad things,” John, now 11, recalls. “I was sniffing glue and eating from garbage cans as well as begging for food. My friends and I slept on the sidewalk or in doorways. We had no blankets.” And perhaps it goes without saying that John and his friends had no bathroom facilities, showers or water fountains to speak of.

Desperately hungry and in need of help, John eventually found his way to our missionaries, who immediately took him in.

The Don Bosco Center serves close to 60 youth like John, providing safe shelter, nutritious meals, clean clothing, and the chance to go to school. The facility has always included basic water infrastructure, but that infrastructure didn’t always function. That’s because the pumps depended on electricity, which—at best—is only intermittently available in Makululu. Often, the power goes out for as many as 16 hours a day. This used to create challenges for missionaries and staff to cook meals for the children and provide adequate hygiene and sanitation.

But thanks to our Clean Water Initiative, this is no longer the case. With funding from generous supporters of Salesian Missions, the Center now has a new well, water shed, and a solar-powered water tank that can operate even when the electricity is out.

“It may sound like a small thing,” says Fr. Mike, “but it’s a gift that youth at the Center are grateful for so they can do simple tasks, like brush their teeth, wash their hands, and eat a meal. And it’s a relief for missionaries and staff who don’t have to worry about a consistent supply of clean water.”

And the real impact for these children is tangible.

“I’m happy to finally be in school for the first time in my life,” John exclaims. “I have a place to sleep, good food to eat, and the clean clothes that I need. I feel safe, and I am very happy.”

Learn more about our work in Zambia.

Our mission provides basic human needs, like food, shelter and clean water to the poorest of the poor. What’s your mission?