From Our Executive Director: International Women’s Day 2022
Happy International Women’s Day 2022!
Two members of our Charlottesville-based team just returned from a 12-day trip to East Africa, where alongside our implementing partner, WorldServe, we hosted 25 of our Waterboys champions for site visits to some of the communities where we support clean water projects.
Everywhere we went, we heard about the power of improved water access to shift gender norms and empower women and girls.
A female local government official in the village of Ugutu, Tanzania emphasized how the installation of their deep borehole well and a subsequent pipeline project has greatly reduced the amount time that women and girls used to spend walking for water.
A student at a primary school in Isinya, Kenya—who is surely a future President of her country—spoke with such clarity and passion about how when girls are released from the burden of fetching water, they can attend school. Access to water also improves school sanitation facilities, essential for menstrual hygiene management.
At another site in Isinya, we learned about how women are serving on the local water management committee. These women are representing their communities in an important leadership role and ensuring that their Waterboys-supported well is sustainable and meeting community needs.
By providing access to clean water, women and girls are empowered with the opportunity to learn, earn and thrive.
We’d like to extend a sincere shout-out to our Waterboys Team Captain Myles Garrett, Conquering Kili 2022 cohort, and Waterboys Young Professionals Committee for shining a light on this critical global development issue of clean water access during this visit, including the proven, positive ripple effect on the lives of women and girls.
Learn more about our targeted effort to empower up to 100,000 women through clean water access at water4Her.org
Thank you for all of your continued support!
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