How we do our work.
#savetheplanet
That question, "If they walk for water, why can't we?," started the first Walking4Water Club. Today, our clubs continue to offer service-minded students the opportunity to make a real impact on their world—by raising funds to build wells + educate the girl's who no longer have to walk for water.
Education + Awareness
Each W4W Club starts by learning about the global impact of #waterscarcity, why certain areas are effected + how the communities we serve are impacted culturally, socially +economically.
Project Design
Our Students utilize the 'a-thon' fundraising model + make it their own, designing + planning their walk with the W4W Staff + a Teacher/Volunteer. We love watching our Students learning to create global change.
Leadership
The students decide on a slate of leadership roles—President, In-Kind-Donation leader, Graphic Artists—which aligns with a core value of helping young men + women explore finding their purpose.
Civic Engagement
Our club members count their W4W experience as one of the most impactful + many go on to continue their service + leadership work in their jobs + communities.
Why we do our work.
#waterislife
2.2 billion people lack access to clean, safely managed drinking water…but water scarcity causes more than thirst.
Health
Where we work, in Sub-Saharan Africa + Asia, over half of the hospital beds have patients with water borne illness + it's where the majority of the 1,200 children per day who succumb to preventable water-related disease are from.
Conflict
In places, like Burkina Faso where political conflict already exists, water scarcity from mismanagement, ownership disputes + unstable water infrastructure, triggers social disruption + displacement in the Communities we serve.
Gender
Women + girls spend 200 million hours carrying water every day. In rural Africa, one woman or girl walks 6 kilometers/3.7 miles a day to haul 40 pounds of water. This takes time away from work and school, which locks women + girls in a cycle of poverty.
Education
When girls are responsible for water collection, they don't get educated + that can lead to early marriage, lower earnings + higher fertility rates over their lifetime. It's also likely their girl children won't be educated either.
What we have accomplished.
#savewatersavelife
When we install a well in a village, water born illness + death decreases, women can pursue income opportunities for their families + girl children can go to school, instead of walking for water.
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Help us change the world...one drop at a time.
People can dig their own shallow wells to access groundwater. However, because these shallow, but they quickly become contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Our wells provide communities with protected and permanent water sources.
When farmers + communities rely on crops + livestock, or families don't have the means to move, the best solution is to build a clean water source near their homes. We build small community wells that are easy to operate and maintain, so families + communities can stay intact.
According to UNwater.org, women and girls usually have the responsibility of fetching water. This can be a dangerous, time-consuming and physically demanding task. Long journeys by foot, often more than once a day, can leave women and girls vulnerable to attack and often precludes them from school or earning an income.