Building strong communities means investing in women.
In most of the developing world, women run their households, which can include caring for their children, feeding their families, and participating in church and community development initiatives. When communities lack access to safe water, as so many do, women are the ones walking miles every day to contaminated water sources, slowing their productivity.
On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2025, we want to honor all women by acknowledging their right to safe water access. But we especially want to highlight the next generation of women—the girls who will one day lead their communities.
Around the world, young girls suffer from a lack of safe water and sanitation. Two such girls are Esther and Faith, best friends living in Kambu, Kenya.
“Esther is my best friend,” 7-year-old Faith says. “Faith is my best friend, too!” says 8-year-old Esther.
Both girls love reading and playing with their friends. However, the lack of safe water in Kambu made these activities difficult.
“At home, we fetch water from a dam,” Faith said. “I go with my aunt and carry 5 liters [of water] home on my back. If we had [enough] water here, we would grow mangos and bananas and sell seedlings to get money. If I didn’t need to go collect water, I would play football with my friends.”
Every day, when Faith fetched water with her aunt, she missed out on playing with her friends. Esther said she related to that struggle, also having to journey to the river every day.
Women and girls collectively spend 200 million hours per day walking for their water.
At the Kambu River, mothers wash their babies’ clothes and diapers, children bathe and swim, and animals defecate. The water is not safe to drink.
Esther and Faith often found themselves sick from the contaminated water they consumed. This caused them to miss school, which is critical for them to attend, both educationally and socially.
“Sometimes I go to the doctor [when I’m sick] and feel sad to miss school,” Faith said. Esther echoed that, saying, “Right now, I get tummy aches and sometimes have to go to the hospital.”
Thankfully, these are no longer concerns for the two girls. In the summer of 2024, Kambu received access to safe water. Water Mission completed a safe water project that serves 9,000 people in the community, including seven schools and the local hospital. This is our largest project in Kenya so far, and it is the first elevated steel tank and underground collection tank technology we have constructed there.
Esther and Faith now have safe water near their homes and at their school. Without having to walk far to collect water or fear getting sick from it, they can dream of futures that may not have been possible previously.
“I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up, making all kinds of clothes, especially light pink and red ones,” Esther says. Meanwhile, Faith says, “Someday, I want to be a doctor.”
Access to safe water builds hope for women and girls around the world. Women are not constrained to spend their free time walking for water, providing them with economic, educational, and social opportunities. After school, girls like Esther and Faith can do their homework and play with friends, allowing them to simply be children.
To invest in women, we must also choose to empower the next generation of women. On this International Women’s Day, you can help break the cycle of poverty that limits opportunities for the next generation. Empower girls like Esther and Faith by helping them have access to safe water.