Two Miles for a Drink of Water

    For most of us in the United States, getting clean water is as simple as turning on the faucet. 

    You probably don’t think twice about taking a long shower after soccer practice. You brush your teeth—and maybe leave the water running while you do. You have water fights with your friends on hot summer days. 

    The average American uses 100 gallons of water a day. That could fill 1,100 soda cans. But for hundreds of millions of people around the world, even one sip of clean water is a luxury. 

    In Natalia’s village, for example, water does not flow from a tap or a backyard hose. Toilets are pits in the ground. People use jugs of water for bathing. And every drop of water is precious. 

    Until recently, the women and children of the village spent many hours each day fetching water for their families. Usually the task fell to young girls, like Natalia.

    For most of us, getting clean water is simple. You turn on the faucet. Maybe you take long showers. Or you have water fights in the summer. 

    Each American uses about 100 gallons of water a day. That could fill 1,100 soda cans. But for hundreds of millions of people around the world, even one sip of clean water is a luxury.

    Take Natalia’s village. Water is hard to get. It does not flow from a tap. There are no backyard hoses. Toilets are pits in the ground. People use jugs of water for bathing. And every drop of water is precious.

    Until recently, women and children had to fetch the water. It took many hours. They fetched water often. Their families needed it. Usually the task fell to young girls. Natalia was one of them.

    For most of us in the United States, getting clean water is as simple as turning on the faucet. 

    You probably don’t worry much about taking a long shower after soccer practice, leaving the water running when you brush your teeth, or having water fights with your friends on hot summer days.

    The average American uses 100 gallons of water a day, an amount that could fill 1,100 soda cans. But for hundreds of millions of people around the world, even one sip of clean water is a luxury. 

    In Natalia’s village, for example, water doesn’t flow from a tap or a backyard hose. Toilets are pits in the ground, and people use jugs of water for bathing. Every drop of water is precious. 

    Until recently, the women and children of the village spent many hours each day fetching water for their families—a task that usually fell to young girls, like Natalia.

    Natalia is a serious girl who loves learning. But getting water for her family left little time for her education. She was lucky to make it to school one or two days a week. She had learned to read and write. But Natalia dreamed of doing far more, like one day running her own school.

    Natalia had plenty of time to think about this dream on her trips to get water. The chore took most of her day. First she walked to the watering holes the villagers had dug into the ground. Then she waited in line for hours. 

    When it was Natalia’s turn, she filled up a plastic can with 3 to 5 gallons of water. A full can weighs from 20 to 40 pounds. That is about the same as three backpacks stuffed with books. Imagine lugging those backpacks for 1 mile. Now imagine doing it twice a day, every day. 

    The water that Natalia brought home was gray and dirty. To kill the germs, Natalia’s family boiled it before drinking it. But that didn’t always work. The water often made them sick. 

    There was no other choice, though. The muddy watering holes were the only source of water for many miles around. 

    Water-related illnesses are a major problem in developing countries like Mozambique. As many as 3.4 million people die every year from water-related illnesses.

    Natalia is a serious girl. She loves to learn. But her chores kept her busy. First she walked to the watering holes that people had dug in the ground. Then she waited in line. It took hours.

    When it was Natalia’s turn, she filled up a plastic can. It could hold 3 to 5 gallons of water. A full can weighs from 20 to 40 pounds. That is about the same as three backpacks stuffed with books. Imagine lugging those backpacks for 1 mile. Now imagine doing it twice a day, every day.

    The water that Natalia brought home was gray. It was dirty. To kill the germs, her family boiled it. But that did not always work. The water often made them sick.

    There was no other choice, though. The watering holes were the only source of water.

    Water-related illnesses are a big problem in developing countries like Mozambique. They kill many people. As many as 3.4 million die every year from water-related illnesses.

    Natalia is a serious girl who loves learning, but getting water for her family left little time for her education. She was lucky if she made it to school even one or two days a week. She had learned to read and write, but Natalia dreamed of doing far more, like one day running her own school.

    Natalia had plenty of time to think about this dream on her trips to get water. The chore took most of her day. First she walked to the watering holes the villagers had dug into the ground, and then she waited in line for hours. 

    When it was finally Natalia’s turn, she filled up a plastic can with 3 to 5 gallons of water. A full can weighs from 20 to 40 pounds, about the same as three backpacks stuffed with books. Imagine lugging those backpacks for 1 mile. Now imagine doing it twice a day, every day. 

    The water that Natalia brought home was gray and dirty. To kill the germs, Natalia’s family boiled it before drinking it, but that didn’t always work. The water often made them sick. 

    There was no other choice, though. The muddy watering holes were the only source of water for many miles around. 

    Water-related illnesses are a major problem in developing countries like Mozambique. Every year, as many as 3.4 million people around the world die from water-related illnesses.

    What Natalia’s village really needed was a well. If the villagers dug a deep well, they could bring up pure, clean water from underground. This water would not be contaminated by animal or human waste. 

    A well would give the villagers safe water to drink. It would also set Natalia and other girls free. Natalia would be able to go to school instead of spending her day hauling water.

    But digging a well requires expensive machines and many experts. Natalia’s village could not afford these things.

    Natalia’s village needed a well. There was clean water deep underground. This water would not be contaminated by animal or human waste. 

    A well would give the villagers safe water. It would also set the girls free. Natalia would be able to go to school. She wouldn’t have to spend her day getting water.

    But digging a well requires machines. It requires experts. Natalia’s village could not afford these things

    What Natalia’s village really needed was a well. If the villagers dug a deep well, they could bring up pure, clean water from far underground. This water would not be contaminated by animal or human waste.

    A well would give the villagers safe water to drink, and it would also liberate Natalia and other girls. Instead of spending her day hauling water, Natalia would finally be able to go to school and get an education.

    But digging a well requires expensive machines and many experts—things Natalia’s village simply could not afford.

    In 2014, an incredible organization called charity: water heard about Natalia’s village. The organization has paid for 24,500 water projects around the world—277 of those in Mozambique. 

    Charity: water worked with a local group called World Vision Mozambique. In August 2014, large trucks rolled into Natalia’s village. 

    The workers found the best place for a well and started drilling. A thundering sound echoed through the village. Natalia and her neighbors came to watch. The workers covered the hole and put a hand pump on top. 

    It was a simple pump sticking out of the ground. But it meant everything. For the first time, clean water poured into Natalia’s hands.

    In 2014, a group called charity: water heard about Natalia’s village. The group has paid for 24,500 water projects around the world. And 277 of those projects were in Mozambique.

    Charity: water worked with a local group. The group was called World Vision Mozambique. In August 2014, large trucks rolled into Natalia’s village. 

    The workers found the best place for a well. They started drilling. The drill was loud. Natalia and her neighbors came to watch. The workers dug the well. Then they covered the hole with a hand pump. 

    It was a simple pump sticking out of the ground. But it meant everything. For the first time, clean water poured into Natalia’s hands.

    In 2014, an incredible organization called charity: water heard about Natalia’s village. The organization has paid for 24,500 water projects around the world—277 of those in Mozambique. 

    Charity: water worked with a local group called World Vision Mozambique. In August 2014, large trucks rolled into Natalia’s village. 

    The workers found the best place for a well and started drilling. A thundering sound echoed through the village. Natalia and her neighbors came to watch. The workers covered the hole and put a hand pump on top. 

    It was just a simple pump sticking out of the ground, but it meant everything. For the first time, clean water poured into Natalia’s hands.

    Natalia knows that water is a gift that should never be taken for granted. It’s been almost four years since the trucks rolled into her village. Villagers are rarely sick. They can bathe whenever they want. And they never go thirsty.

    Life is quite different for Natalia these days. She goes to school. She is a top student who plans to run her own school. She wants to improve the lives of other girls through education. 

    Natalia also has another project. The villagers elected her to be president of the water committee. They thought her intelligence and confidence made her perfect for the job. 

    Now, instead of hauling water on her back every day, she oversees a team of five adults. The team is in charge of watching over the well. 

    Natalia still walks quickly, but she no longer walks in the morning dark. Now, her steps lead her toward the future she always dreamed of.

    Natalia knows that water is a gift. It should never be taken for granted. It’s been almost four years since the well was dug. Villagers are rarely sick. They can bathe whenever they want. And they never go thirsty.

    Natalia’s life has changed. These days, she goes to school. She is a top student. She plans to run her own school. She wants to improve the lives of other girls through education. 

    Natalia has another project too. The villagers elected her to be president of the water committee. They knew she was smart and confident. That made her perfect for the job.

    Now, Natalia doesn’t haul water on her back every day. Instead, she oversees a team of five adults. The team is in charge of watching over the well.

    Natalia still walks quickly. But she no longer walks in the morning dark. Now, her steps lead her toward the future she always dreamed of.

    Natalia knows that water is a gift that should never be taken for granted. It’s been almost four years since the trucks rolled into her village. Villagers are rarely sick, and they can bathe whenever they want. They never go thirsty.

    Life is quite different for Natalia these days. She goes to school, and she’s an excellent student. She plans to run her own school one day and improve the lives of other girls through education. 

    Natalia also has another project: Her fellow villagers elected her president of the water committee, because they believed that her intelligence and confidence made her perfect for the job. 

    Now, instead of hauling water on her back every day, Natalia oversees a team of five adults. The team is responsible for watching over the well. 

    Natalia still walks quickly, but she no longer walks in the morning dark. Today, her steps are leading her toward the future she always dreamed of.