New boreholes and hygiene education reduce illness
Grace is a mother of seven from Kenya’s Nakuru County. Until very recently, her family faced many challenges because they had no access to clean water.
In the dry season, Grace had to walk eight kilometres to the nearest water source – a shallow river contaminated with chemicals from farms upstream. The only other option was a muddy pond polluted by animals.
Before using the water she collected for cooking and drinking, Grace had to wait for all the dirt to settle at the bottom of her 20-litre container. Often this was enough to fill five bowls.
But life has changed dramatically for Grace and her family since World Vision drilled a borehole in her village providing enough water for 300 families.
“Villagers can now take showers and wash their clothes,” Grace explained, adding that her children are rarely ill with diarrhoea and colds now that clean water is always within easy reach. “If our kids aren’t sick, they can be good students.”
Grace can now make sure her children bathe daily and wash their hands after using the toilet. And her journey to fetch water that used to take two hours can now be completed in minutes.
Together with change makers like you around the world, we’re well on the way to reaching our goal of providing one new person with clean water every 10 seconds.