Imagine, for a moment, someone having to care for a family member--or perhaps a whole family--suffering from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Imagine that this person lives with the daily knowledge that she, too, may be infected with the virus, and may soon be too weak to continue.

Imagine that the water she and her family drink, cook in, bathe in, wash their clothes and dishes in, and do everything else in their daily lives with, is contaminated with parasites and bacteria that hamper their fight against illness.

Imagine her and her children, and all the other women and children in her village--the ones healthy enough to manage--having to travel up to ten miles a day on foot to collect water that is safe to use.

Now stop imagining. This is real life for millions of Africans.

When Dan Haseltine, lead singer of the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning band Jars of Clay, visited Africa in 2002, he was deeply shaken by what he saw. Poverty, social injustice, and physical suffering overwhelmed him. Haseltine returned home determined to turn his despair into hope and, ultimately, action. Sharing his experience with his bandmates, he soon created a vision of clean blood and clean water for Africa, a continent that would be transformed by Christ's sacrificial symbols of blood and water.

Blood:Water Mission was born.

A nonprofit organization founded to address the HIV/AIDS crisis on the African continent by providing clean water, Blood:Water Mission is greatly reducing the impact of the disease while addressing the underlying issues of poverty and social oppression. They're building wells, supporting medical facilities, and working toward a changed worldview through personal relationships with African communities.

Jars of Clay's audience is mainly churchgoers and American youth. Recognizing that these two groups are uniquely equipped to respond to suffering in the world, they saw a shining opportunity to share God's love and mercy with this hurting continent. They now use their platform to bring awareness to the plight of Africans, linking the needs of one population to the talents and resources of the other, changing lives on both sides of the ocean.

Dan Haseltine tells about one of his most memorable experiences:

"We arrived at a support group for people with HIV/AIDS