Women in a Kenyan village have brought clean drinking water to their community, eradicating disease and improving economic activity. This project's success has prompted its replication in other areas.
There are 1.3 billion people in the world without safe drinking water, causing widespread disease and early death. Clean water is a basic human right. Through the leadership and support of the World YWCA, women in local communities are using their entrepreneurial skills village by village to provide access to clean water. The first water project in Kenya has already positively affected 17,000 people.
The women of the village designed and planned the project, purchased and transported materials, cleared, dug channels and laid pipe. They also did fundraising and pooled community resources.
The impact of the availability of clean water includes better health for everyone in the village. Women and girls' use of time will be more productive, which will translate into more economic activity for their village.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).