{"id":245264,"date":"2025-03-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/?p=245264"},"modified":"2025-03-22T12:58:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T16:58:41","slug":"the-global-water-crisis-explained-through-four-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/2025\/03\/22\/the-global-water-crisis-explained-through-four-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"The Global Water Crisis, Explained Through Four Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019ve never had to think about where your next glass of water is coming from, you\u2019re not alone. For many of us, water is something we expect \u2014 from a faucet, a fridge, or a bottle. But in communities across the world, water is a daily struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help you imagine what that struggle feels like, we\u2019d like to introduce you to four people. Each of them lives in a different part of Africa, and each of them has to work hard just to get water each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western Kenya: Lincoln\u2019s Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The girls in 15-year-old Lincoln\u2019s community of Buloma<\/a> make fun of him. Every day, he leaves his home to fetch water for his household \u2014 but everyone in sub-Saharan Africa knows that\u2019s a job for women and girls<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was laughed [at] by girls, saying that fetching water is a girl thing,\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cI really felt ashamed. When my mother sends me for water, I can’t refuse her, because [I] am the only child, and I have to help her. I just take in the insults and pretend that I have not heard anything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lincoln at his community’s partially protected spring.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It\u2019s more than a 30-minute walk to the \u201cprotected\u201d spring where Lincoln collects water. But even though that sounds like a long time to walk just for one container of water, it\u2019s not the worst thing about water here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drinking this water infects the people of Buloma with water-related diarrheal diseases that have mostly disappeared in wealthier nations. In 2022, one of the community members died from drinking this water. Knowing this must have made the time when Lincoln himself got sick even scarier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe last time I was sick because of drinking dirty water, I was very sick until I was admitted [to] the hospital,\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cI received several injections and a lot of drugs. Going to the hospital every day for injections after being discharged was not a good experience. It was painful and stressful at the same time. I had to take drugs on a daily basis, which was an awful thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Lincoln gets sick, he misses school. But even when he\u2019s well, the time he loses collecting water puts his education at risk. Lincoln spends about two hours each day fetching water, walking to the water source, and then waiting for his turn to place his yellow water container (or jerrycan) beneath the spring\u2019s spout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFetching water, especially in the morning, makes me late to school,\u201d Lincoln shared. \u201cSometimes, [when I reach school], I find the teachers have already taught the first lesson. Catching up on the lost lessons becomes hard since I don’t have [the] time to concentrate and revise. This has made my grades drop greatly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Community kids crowd around the water source in Buloma.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bad grades put Lincoln\u2019s future prospects in jeopardy. This must weigh on his mind, especially since his dream is to become an engineer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI want to become an engineer so that I can be able to help others, especially the orphaned children, [to] get [a] proper education. [And] help my parents live a comfortable life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lincoln is doing his best, but the water crisis holds him back from the future he\u2019s working toward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southeast Kenya: Doreen\u2019s Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every morning, 25-year-old Doreen wakes up before the sun rises. Her children are still sleeping as she grabs a jerrycan and starts the (very) long walk to the dry riverbed. There\u2019s no time to waste \u2014 if she\u2019s not early, others will have collected all the available water in her community first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doreen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThe water source is located very far away through bushes, and walking alone is a risk,\u201d Doreen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Doreen\u2019s community of Syandu<\/a> in Southeast Kenya, it\u2019s dry. Water is scarce every day, but especially during about half of the months each year when no rains come<\/a>. During these months, entire rivers disappear, leaving only sandy riverbeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doreen walks along the riverbed with other community members.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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When it\u2019s raining in Syandu, Doreen can collect rainwater from her roof. But when the rains and rivers disappear, she\u2019s left with nothing. What\u2019s worse, climate change keeps extending these dry periods out longer and longer, turning a semi-annual phenomenon into a full-blown drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it\u2019s dry, everyone\u2019s only water option is to dig holes down into the dry riverbeds to scoop up the remnants of the previous rainy season\u2019s water. These scoop holes<\/a> contain brown, salty water that community members are forced to share with their livestock and the local wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doreen scoops up water with a hollow gourd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Doreen never knows the state of the water she\u2019ll find, or how much will be left. Around 3,000 people live in her community, and all of them go to the same riverbed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doreen explained: \u201cSometimes, one has to wait for water to accumulate in the scoop hole, which takes longer during the drought period because many people depend on the scoop hole, which diminishes in quantity as the drought progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another scoophole in Syandu, lined with thorny bushes to keep animals away.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Still, she scoops and strains what she can, because it\u2019s all she has to keep her children hydrated, to try and grow their food in the dry soil, and to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doreen wants more than survival. She wants to grow enough vegetables to sell at the market. She wants to pay her children\u2019s school fees. She wants them to be healthy, to learn, to have a future she never got to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But without reliable water, those dreams dry up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWater is life,\u201d Doreen said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout water, life is very difficult. It is difficult to take care of my children when there is no water for my crops, which makes it hard to feed them or get [money for] school fees. Water is crucial for us because we need it for drinking, cooking, irrigating our crops, and also for our animals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sierra Leone: Isatu\u2019s Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife has become unbearable since the well at the school grounds broke down,\u201d said 15-year-old Isatu, who attends Makempitha DEC Primary School<\/a> in Sierra Leone. \u201cIt has not been easy for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The well at Isatu\u2019s school stopped working more than five years ago. Since then, the teachers have had no choice but to send their students to fetch water from a distant swamp. After all, the students and staff need water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The water source for Makempitha DEC Primary School in Sierra Leone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Unfortunately, swamp water is unsafe for drinking. They drink it because there is no other option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe walking distance to the water point affects me greatly because the swamp is far away from the school,\u201d Isatu explained. \u201cMost times, I will leave classes just to go fetch water from this source. The walking distance alone makes me tired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Isatu carries a bucket of water on her head on the path from the swamp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Isatu knows that, with water, her life would be better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot live a normal life like my friends in other schools who have access to safe and reliable water sources,\u201d Isatu shared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe water situation in the school prevents me from even playing with my friends since I must fetch water for drinking and other purposes, even during lunchtime. Also, if the well is rehabilitated, I will have enough time to copy my notes and even pay attention in class. Honestly, I find it hard to do this because of the water constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Isatu pulls her water bucket up from the swamp pool using a stick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Isatu dreams of becoming a nurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresently, we have no clinic or trained and qualified nurse here,\u201d Isatu said. \u201cSo, if I am able to be a nurse, at least the situation will change in my community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, she needs time to learn \u2014 and the chance to stay healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see it as a burden because fetching water here is not easy for me,\u201d Isatu said. \u201cEven my friends know what I am saying. It is hard to fetch and transport water from the swamp. That is why I will be grateful when the well at the school is rehabilitated. [It will] prevent the unnecessary suffering I am now experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda: Bridget\u2019s Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like everyone in Bubanda<\/a>, 15-year-old Bridget must walk more than an hour to fetch water. The path winds through overgrown brush and other people\u2019s gardens, which causes tension among neighbors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel frustrated due to the long distance and the queue, especially during the evening hours,\u201d said Bridget. \u201cI am constantly concerned about safety because the access road to the water point is overgrown, and as a girl, I fear the possibility of harassment by men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On average, people in Bubanda waste 30 minutes waiting in line to use the only water source for miles around. If Bridget hasn\u2019t angered someone by the time she reaches the water point, she might attract someone\u2019s ire just trying to keep her own place in line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bridget stands in front of the nearest water source to her community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe long distance makes fetching water time-consuming, and sometimes the lengthy queue at the water point also causes delays,\u201d she said. \u201cAdults refuse to follow the line or wait their turn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time this process takes robs her of more than just her energy \u2014 it steals from her education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t have enough time to read my books,\u201d Bridget explained. \u201cI spend a significant amount of time collecting water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bridget does laundry at her family’s home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A closer, safer water point would change everything for Bridget. She explained: \u201cIt [would] help shorten the distance and also reduce the risks associated with traveling through unsafe areas to reach the water point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These stories can be hard to read. But they’re even harder to live through. And as unimaginable as Lincoln, Doreen, Isatu, and Bridget\u2019s daily challenges may seem, they’re not rare \u2014 in fact, they represent just one tiny sliver of a global crisis affecting hundreds of millions<\/a> of people around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOne in four people around the world lack safely managed drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\nUNICEF\/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Why the Water Crisis Deserves Your Attention <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re reading this blog, there\u2019s a good chance that when you need water, you just turn on a tap. You may not think twice about it because you\u2019ve likely never had to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You probably haven\u2019t walked for hours to collect water. You haven\u2019t missed school because the only nearby water source was dry or contaminated. And chances are, you\u2019ve never stood in line at a community water source, hoping you can fill your container before the supply runs out or you have to get to work or school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for a staggering amount of people worldwide, that\u2019s daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Community members in Lincoln’s community wait for their water containers to fill up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The latest data<\/a> shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n