WATER IS LIFE

Water is life, and the need for clean water in Burkina Faso is undeniable. The UN estimates that somewhere between 1 in 2 to 1 in 3 Burkinabe do not have access to clean water in rural areas.

It's easy for most of us to take for granted the convenience of turning on a faucet to get water to drink, cook, clean, or bathe. When you stop and think about the people living in the bush villages of of Burkina Faso, you realize that convenience is the least of their concerns:

• 1 in every 3.4 children die in Burkina Faso before the age of 10.
• 39% of children under the age of 5 are underweight.
• The greatest contributing factors to poor health and disease are water born illnesses.
  

When a clean water source is available, and is close to home, the changes in the quality of life and health can transform the trajectory of whole communities.

The things that are important to the Burkina and that local reports have highlighted for us are that crops are more easily grown closer to home, and in greater varieties. Clean water creates more economic opportunity. Women and children are not exposed to the dangers of walking through the African bush on their own as they are primarily the ones who go and get water.

Perhaps the most important and our favorite highlight of all is that families spend more time together.

Water is not just about sustaining life and health, but increases the quality of life for everyone who lives in a local village.