Clean Water Changes Everything
Approx 770 million people in the world live without clean water. About 1 in 10 people worldwide. Women and children spend hours every day walking to collect water that is often not clean or safe. Not only does walking for water keep children out of school or take up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick and can lead to unnecessary and painful deaths. Each day over 4,300 children die from water related diseases.
Access to clean water means education, income and health - especially for women and their families.
Improved Health
Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Almost half of those deaths are children under five years old. The most common form of childhood illness is diarrhea related diseases due to unsafe and unclean water. Thousands of children suffer painful deaths daily due to a lack of clean, safe water. The region we work in is dry and arid. People often have to survive on a half a cup of water a day.
More Access to Education
Clean water helps keep children in school, especially girls. Educating girls prevents early marriages and the brutal tradition of FGM- female genital mutilation.
Less time collecting water means more time in class. Clean water and proper toilets at school also means teenage girls don’t have to stay home for a week out of every month and a reduction of diarrhea related diseases for all children.
Wasted Time
In Africa alone, women spend hours each day walking just to get water for their families and livestock. Access to clean water gives communities more time to grow food, earn an income, and go to school, all of which fight poverty.
Women Empowerment
Women are responsible for 72% of the water collected in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women and children are disproportionately affected by the water crisis, as they are often responsible for collecting water. This takes time away from work, school and caring for family. The lack of water and sanitation locks women in a cycle of poverty and enslavement to walking miles daily to collect water. Empowering women is critical to solving the water crisis. When women have access to safe water in their villages, they can pursue more beyond water collection and their traditional roles by starting new businesses and earning money to keep their children in school.
How do we tackle the water crisis?
We work with local experts and our Maasai leaders on the ground directly to find the best solution. Since the water in this part of Kenya is anywhere from 600-1,000 feet down through volcanic rock, the process is complicated and expensive. Bore holes are drilled, solar panels are needed for power and generators, pumps, holding tanks, access stations and livestock troughs need to be built. The water is then accessible to the entire community. We work with solutions to render the water clean and safe to use and drink to benefit the entire communities in a number of ways from human use and consumption, to growing crops and livestock and building wildlife water holes for villages close to wild animal migration routes.
