The Need For Safe Water
May 6, 2014
Richard stands outside of his home in Kenya.
“I live two kilometers from the spring where I get my water from. I take cattle to the spring twice in a day to drink water and it is very tiring for me considering that I am crippled. When my wife and children go to fetch water, it takes them a long time. The performance of my children in school has been deteriorating because of the water situation in our village. They spend a lot of time at the spring—more than they do with their books. After school, instead of doing their homework, they go to the spring to fetch water and afterwards fetch firewood.
“Since some people bathe in the spring, we have not been able to eliminate waterborne diseases like typhoid. My family, just like other community members, has suffered from typhoid time and again. These frequent ailments have affected our finances. When we get clean and safe water, our living standards will improve. Incidences of waterborne diseases will reduce greatly and people in this community will be happy.”
The unsafe water Richard drinks represents precious hours wasted to gathering dirty water and the potential of days ahead spent in the hospital.
Richard isn’t the only person in this his community in need of a better way to get water. His neighbor, Patricia, is a sixty-six-year-old mother of ten. “Every morning when I was younger,” she recalled, “I used to make four trips to the spring to fetch water to use on my daily chores. Nowadays, since age has caught up with me, I can only manage one trip which cannot cover my family’s water needs. Most of the time I have to wait in the queue for almost an hour before it is my turn to fetch water. Sometimes I have to wait for cattle to drink water first because I don’t want them to injure me.
Patricia asked for easier access to water.
“Due to these delays, I am not able to tend to my farm well and this has adversely affected my family’s food security. I also suffer from waterborne diseases, mostly typhoid. If we could get help to get clean and safe water, I would be eternally grateful.”
The words of people like Richard and Patricia remind us all how much work must be done before the global water crisis can end. Millions around the world desperately need access to adequate safe water and sanitation.
WMI Volunteer Jim conducts an assessment on Richard and Patricia's community.
Fortunately, Water Missions International is working to help Richard, Patricia, and their community. Our staff in Kenya have conducted an assessment and are working with this community as we speak to design a safe water solution customized to their needs.
There is hope for a brighter tomorrow for Richard and Patricia. You can join us in the fight against the global water crisis. Click below to give someone life-saving safe water.
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