Water Projects in Africa Are Essential to Break the Poverty Cycle

Imagine not being able to drink a clean glass of water, brush your teeth, wash your hands, take a shower, or water your garden.  Needless to say, your health, hygiene, and quality of life would suffer greatly.

Each day in developing countries, women and children spend several hours walking long distances to fetch water that is not safe to drink.  By spending so much time collecting water, people are sacrificing their ability to work or attend school…. and they still don’t have safe or plentiful water.

Water safety is an enormous problem.  Contaminated water can spread dangerous illnesses such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, and more.  Waterborne illness seriously affects work productivity for adults.  It impacts the physical and cognitive development of children, and often causes them to miss school due to illness.  Sick adults cannot work, and sick children cannot learn effectively.  In the worst cases, waterborne illness can cause death especially in babies and young children.

Lack of water causes communities to suffer from the ground up. It impacts health, wellbeing, education, and the economy.  Clean drinking water is the first step in fighting extreme poverty.