Together, we've empowered millions of people with access to safe water and sanitation. We invite you to meet some of them and read their stories.
As a child, Elena did not share in the joys of playtime like her boys, nor did she have time to even imagine what she wanted to be when she grew up. Elena was raised in rural Peru where she spent many hours carrying water jugs rather than kicking a soccer ball.
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Like 25 million Brazilians, Maria lacked access to adequate sanitation in her home, where she lives and works and helps raise her granddaughter. Read about how a small loan gave this mother and grandmother the resource needed to keep her family healthy.
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Nimfa’s story is a story shared by many women in her village. After spending too many girlhood hours searching for water, and spending too much money paying for what they lacked, they grew up to recognize their potential and knew they needed safe water to unlock it.
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When one has time to follow their dreams, those dreams can become reality. However, millions of women around the world don’t have time to realize their dreams. Women like Elizabeth. Instead of pursuing her dream of making dresses to support her family, she spent that time each day collecting water. Mile after mile, heavy bucket after heavy bucket of water, it seemed there was no end in sight.
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Namulondo is a hardworking health assistant at a local hospital and a loving single mom who has dedicated her life to caring for her children. A small, affordable loan helped Namulondo pay for a rain storage tank, providing her family with enough water for several months.
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When given a choice and an opportunity to pay for water and sanitation improvements over a reasonable period of time, families in need often choose to finance long-term solutions versus pay high prices, or struggle day-to-day, to get that next liter of water. Ariacelle once struggled daily to pay for bottled water and find a safe place to go. A small, affordable loan empowered Ariacelle with the funds needed to pay for the installation of a toilet and sink in her home.
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Because of you, life is different for millions of people around the world. It’s different for people like Dora and Moses in Peru, and Birtukan in Uganda, for Sariati in Indonesia, and for Birtukan in Ethiopia.
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With a small, affordable loan, Birtukan and Adisu were able to install a water connection on their land. Now, their four children are going to school and dreaming about the future.
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“When our kids were young, they collected water and they used the outdoors instead of a toilet. It is common for kids here, but they were too young for such a task, and going outdoors isn’t safe. They needed rest, safety, and they needed time for school.” Lumiu did not like this way of life for their kids.
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We believe that at least half of the people in need of safe water and sanitation are the solution to their own water crisis. They are men and women, who, despite living in poverty, are already making huge financial sacrifices to try to change their water and sanitation situation.
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The people with the least access to safe water are spending the most time and money to get it. People like Lomitu. See how access to safe water at home saved Lomitu time, empowering her to earn more income.
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Water.org made possible for people like Juleha and her husband small, affordable loans to cover the up-front costs associated with connecting to their local water utility’s pipelines. Read Juleha's story.
Read moreTogether, we can empower more families with safe water.
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