The Water Project
A gift of $23 can provide
one person with clean, safe water.
Will you help?

One billion people lack access to clean drinking water

Why Water?


Every day in rural communities and poor urban centers throughout sub-Saharan Africa, hundreds of millions of people suffer from a lack of access to clean, safe water.

Women and girls especially bear the burden of walking miles at a time to gather water from streams and ponds - full of disease that is making them and their families sick.

These illnesses and the time lost to fetching water robs entire communities of their futures.

Hope is put on hold in over half of the developing world's primary schools without access to water and sanitation.

But it doesn't have to be this way.


 
See what access to water means to her in Sierra Leone
 
When water comes, everything changes...
Education

When students are freed from gathering water, they return to class. With proper and safe latrines, girls stay in school through their teenage years.

Health

Safe water, clean hands, healthy bodies. Time lost to sickness is reduced and people can get back to the work of lifting themselves out of poverty.

 
Hunger

Access to water leads to food security. With less crop loss, hunger is reduced. Schools can feed students with gardens, reducing costs.

Poverty

Access to water can break the cycle of poverty. The communities we serve are ready to grow. We can't wait to see how they choose to do it.

 
Next... See How to Provide Clean Water »