Water and Sanitation

Water: We can’t live without it, but many can’t live with it. This essential ingredient of life kills more than 3.3 million people each year.

THE FACTS

• Every 15 seconds a child dies from water-related diseases.
• Roughly 1 in 8 people don’t have access to safe water.
• Almost a third of the world’s population live without basic sanitation (UN).

OUR ANSWER

Our answer is to be proactive. To provide safe water, sanitation facilities and hygiene training. So far we’ve distributed 7,000 life-saving water filters, built 26 new toilet blocks changing the lives of over 13,000 people, and drilled 3 boreholes in communities battling the effects of poverty.

THERESE’S STORY

Six-year-old Constant and his three brothers live with their mother, Therese, in Togo. Therese earns less than £1 a day and can’t afford to buy safe water for her children let alone pay for their medication when they fall sick.

When this family was given a water filter, it transformed their lives. The children stopped getting sick, Therese no longer had to scrape together money for medication and the family had time to concentrate on school and work.

“Today, thanks to the project, we are healthy,” says Therese. “When I get up every morning, I think only about what my children will eat. I do not think about pharmaceuticals. This safe water system is a gift from God. In addition, it is easy to use and does not waste my time.”

An update on Water of life in Guatemala

Thanks to all those who gave to Water of Life in Guatemala. Because of your generosity 3,250 children and 4,450 adults now have access to safe water. Read about the difference you've made here >