"Can you get me a glass of water while you are up?"  How many times have you asked that of a spouse, a friend or a waitress?  Imagine if getting that glass of water required walking 4 miles (maybe longer during the dry season) and on any one trip, you can only get as much as you can carry.  And once home you can't drink it until you have built a fire and boiled it.  Imagine if after all that, you still weren't sure if it was safe to drink.  And if it isn't, the water-borne disease you get from drinking it could vary from an upset stomach to typhoid fever to cholera, which you could die from within days.  Now remember, this isn't just a problem for the water you want to drink, but also the water you use to cook, the water your children want to drink, and the water you need to give your livestock - which are either your livelihood or the source of the food on your family's dinner plate.  Water is something we take for granted, but over a billion people live without convenient access to clean water.

 

Lack of clean water in a community has far reaching implications. Limited access to water influences the sustainability of other critical needs, including education, economic development, nutrition, environmental health and gender equality.  Sick adults are in a poor position to take care of their families. Sick children are unable to go to school or they have to drop out of school because there is not enough time for them to complete their daily chores, which includes spending substantial time getting water. Women also spend hours gathering water, which is time that could be diverted to income-generating activities that could enhance the standard of living for their families. According to the World Health Organization, "improved water and sanitation also contribute to gender equality and empower women, being linked to school enrollment and attendance, especially of girls."  A steady supply of water is also important for irrigation and livestock to keep crops and animals strong and healthy. In total, a reliable source of clean water can go a long way in helping a community break the cycle of poverty.   

 

We have already seen this in action.  In 2008, we partnered with Global Partners for Development and with the help of our family and friends we funded the construction of a well in Kodongo Village in Western Kenya.  In February of 2009, we traveled to Kenya to see the well and meet the people who had built it and were benefiting from the clean water it provided.  You can see photos from our visit below.  The village had already constructed two other wells two years before, so they were able to convey how the water was changing their lives.  They were healthier and the women were using the time that they used to spend walking miles to get water to make pots and rope which they were selling to generate income for their families.  In June, we received the following e-mail from the project manager: