The Value of Water

When there is access to reliable, clean water to use for drinking, bathing, and cooking, communities are transformed for generations. Clean water impacts everything. Without clean water, education cannot thrive, gender inequality grows, economic activity becomes stagnant, and development is stifled. But WITH clean water, students can enroll and focus on school, girls and women can spend more time learning and working, agriculture thrives, diseases plummet, income diversifies, jobs grow, and so much more – clean water is an anchor for long-term success and growth.

The tangible value of water is made evident to our team every day, so we’ve asked a few team members to reflect on what clean water truly means and why we’ve made it our mission.

Perspectives on Water

“I choose to define water as a tool for rewriting impossible stories into beautiful tales. I was brought up in the semi-arid regions of Makueni, Kenya, where it hardly rains and the rivers have more sand than water. Our piped water was always brown with contamination. Anyone who wanted clear water, had to wake up before 4 am to run to the well and fetch a jerrycan full before going to school on time otherwise corporal punishment would await us.

I was about seven years old when I saw clear water flowing out of a tap for the first time. My parents had relocated me to Nairobi and here, life was different. The water was always clean, I didn’t have to wake up at an early hour to fetch water, or sleep thirsty because I was saving my glass of water for school the next day. I had a life my relatives back home didn’t. I had time to focus on my education and build myself when most of my classmates, unable to balance between fetching water, house chores and doing homework, dropped out.

With each water well we implement, I see another child whose future is about to change because of water. For me, providing clean water to communities is not just a job but an actualization of my dream to give children and women a second chance at life and greatness.” – Karen Kavete, Well Aware Community Director

“I was already passionate about this work before Violet arrived, but when she did, I felt an even deeper connection to the cause, specifically how it impacts women and children. As a mother, when I would breastfeed my baby, I started to feel the fear that other moms feel when they have infants in places without any water. I couldn’t conceive how terrifying it would be knowing that your baby may die because you couldn’t find water that week and the breastmilk wouldn’t come. But I was suddenly keenly aware of this pain, and boldly motivated to push forward in my work for them.” – Sarah Evans, Well Aware Founder

“Access to clean, reliable water has a huge impact on people’s lives. It has the ability to change the lives of the people who get it, but it affects so many other things such as, communities grow in number, schools are able to roll in more students and do much better at their studies, reduced cases of water related illnesses and women are more empowered to work on other sectors as opposed to spending time collecting water.” – Joe Mbagia, Well Aware Community Associate

“Clean water is always top of mind for me because of the perspective I have been given through working with Well Aware for the past seven years. People in my life get annoyed with me turning the faucet off when they’re brushing their teeth or washing the dishes. But, I can’t help it. I’ve seen communities who don’t have water, I’ve seen women filling jerry cans from a dirty pond to take home to give their children and I can’t help but let that affect my every day.” – Kareece Sacco, Well Aware Executive Director

Now that you’ve heard from a few of our team members, we encourage you to ponder the same questions: What does clean water mean to you? How has access to clean water impacted your life? How do you use water daily?

See what people in our partner communities have to say in our Faces of Water stories.

Expanding clean water access together

Knowing how precious and vital water is for all aspects of life, we ask you to stand with us in the fight for clean water by spreading awareness of our work and getting involved in our mission. One of the best ways you can make a difference throughout the year is by joining The Village, our community of monthly donors that enable Well Aware to scale our water projects and reach more people each year. For $15/month, you can give lasting clean water to 1 person every month – changing their life forever.

We look forward to pressing on towards #cleanwaterforall with you. Thank you for supporting our mission. Clean water truly is LIFE!