Cross Catholic Outreach Provides ‘Water for Life’ for Lent 2025

Cross Catholic Outreach invites Catholics around the world to pray, fast and share a glass of clean water to help families in six African countries.

This Lent, Cross Catholic Outreach is encouraging Catholics to address the suffering caused by water scarcity in the developing world by supporting its “Water for Life” campaign. This special effort has the potential to transform the lives of 238,903 individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa by providing their remote communities with clean, safe water.

Cross Catholic Outreach, a Vatican-endorsed Catholic global relief and development ministry, is leading this effort, along with its Catholic ministry partners in six developing countries in Africa, including Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Eswatini.

The Challenge of Getting Clean Water

“For Americans, getting clean water is as easy as turning on a faucet,” said Cross Catholic Outreach president Michele Sagarino. “In some African countries, it can take up to eight hours to collect, boil and cool a single bucket of water, which leaves little time for school, family, earning money or Mass. Most of the time, this laborious work is done by girls and women, which probably contributes to the fact that less than 1 percent of Malawian females pursue a higher education. This Lent, Catholics have a chance to make a real difference in the lives of these suffering people. They have a chance to share Gospel love and hope through something as simple as a clean glass of water.”

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To help create greater awareness of these issues and focus hearts on the deep spiritual significance of Lent, Cross Catholic Outreach has also released a Lent Activity Guide for children and families as part of its “Water for Life” campaign. The guide features the Sunday Mass Readings for each week of Lent, weekly reflections, discussion questions and activities for the whole family to enjoy together. At the heart of the guide is the inspiring story of Angel — a young Malawian girl facing daily struggles without safe water — which will help participating families understand the importance of clean water and how they can make a life-transforming impact by providing the poor with that blessing this Lent.

Accessing clean water is a critical need that is not being met in many parts of the world. The World Health Organization reported that 14 countries in the African region were impacted by the cholera outbreak during 2024. In Zambia alone, 637 people died from cholera in the first 11 months of 2024, one of the highest rates in Africa. Contaminated water is the primary way cholera is spread. Without treatment, a painful death can occur within hours of the onset of symptoms.

To help alleviate such problems, since 2003, Cross Catholic Outreach has led life-changing poverty relief efforts in Africa, and over the past eight years, they have successfully implemented water and sanitation projects in eight sub-Saharan nations.

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Making Water for Life a Reality

Cross Catholic Outreach wants to make “Water for Life” a reality by installing five wells in Ghana, including one at a primary school; 11 water access points in two communities in Ethiopia; 27 solar-powered water systems in Kenya; 16 wells in Malawi, along with maintenance for four existing wells; and 83 wells serving 91 villages in Zambia. This doesn’t count the health centers and other services Cross Catholic Outreach hopes to help create in some of Africa’s most remote regions.

A gift of $84 to Cross Catholic Outreach can fund a lifetime of clean, safe water for a family of four living in an African village. Sagarino hopes Catholics will support this clean water project with their prayers and financial support.

Donors to “Water for Life” will do much more than provide safe, reliable water sources. They will allow families to go from surviving to thriving — with improved health and more time for school, worship, family bonding and income-generating activities.

“Many people say they wish they could go on a mission trip to minister to the poor,” said Sagarino. “The great news is they can do the next best thing by helping Cross Catholic Outreach witness to some of the planet’s poorest people. By contributing, they will assist hardworking priests, sisters and lay missionaries who do amazing work.”

Parishes, schools, Catholic groups, individuals, and families who want to partner with Cross Catholic Outreach to provide “Water for Life” can learn more about its clean water initiatives at CrossCatholic.org/Clean-Water.

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About Cross Catholic Outreach: Cross Catholic Outreach launched its ministry in 2001 to provide material and spiritual blessings to those in need around the world. Since then, thousands of lives and communities have been transformed by God working through its mission of mercy.