Clean water means health, income and
education - especially for women and kids.

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Health and Sanitation



Women and Children


Time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work and taking care of their families. Along their long walk, they're subjected to a greater risk of harassment and sexual assault. With safe water nearby, women are free to pursue new opportunities and improve their families’ lives.

Economies & Communities

Food Supply

Feeding our world takes up to 90% of our freshwater withdrawals. When a water project is built in a community, members can often use the new water source to grow small gardens near their homes and secure their own food supply. Self-sufficient households are less affected by conflict, famine or inadequate government services.

Gender Equality

In most rural communities worldwide, women and young girls are responsible for walking to collect water for their families. Building a water project nearby can give women the freedom to pursue an education or earn extra income. Water Committees are often the first chance for women to step into elected leadership roles.

The Future

At the end of 2012, we hit a milestone - we reached three million people served. But by 2050, the world's population is estimated to grow by three billion and 90% will be in the developing world. Unless sustainable water solutions are scaled fast, regions already stressed for water sources will be over capacity.

Your Village Gets a Water Project

A Likely Scenario


A hygiene worker teaches your village the importance of sanitation. Your community builds latrines and sets up handwashing stations.

You join the Water Committee to oversee your village's new water source. As a woman, this is your first local leadership position.

You use the extra time and new water source to start a vegetable garden and feed your family. You sell your extra food at the market.

Your kids spend more time in school instead of walking for water. They graduate to become teachers, nurses or business owners.

A nearby community learns how water changed your village. They petition for a water project too, and the cycle starts again.

- Margaret Catley-Carlson, Vice-Chair, World Economic Forum

water as a catalyst: disease prevention

clean water alone can reduce
water-related deaths by 21%
sanitation alone can reduce
water-related deaths by 37.5%
handwashing alone can reduce
water-related deaths by 35%

charity: water focuses on life’s most basic need -- water. But to significantly cut down disease rates in the developing world, water is just the first step. Almost everywhere charity: water builds a freshwater well, we also require sanitation training. In some communities, we build latrines; at the very least, we promote simple hand-washing stations made with readily-available materials. Clean water can greatly alleviate the world’s disease burden, but only with education and hygienic practice. charity: water is committed to using water as a gateway to sanitary living.


adding it up: the return

for the local economy, depending on the type of project.

Even in regions prone to natural disasters, water infrastructure has proven to be a smart investment, sometimes reducing flood damage or disease rates among survivors. Clean water transforms lives, communities and generations -- and at a surprisingly low cost.
Just $30 can provide clean water for one person.