Waterboys Team

November 18, 2020

We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Global Water Challenge’s women for water, initiative to launch our newest program water4Her.

Led by The Chris Long Foundation co-founder, Megan Long, water4Her will bring together a community of women athletes, influencers and donors to raise awareness and funding for water projects that will empower East African women and girls. We will do this in partnership with impact partners, World Vision, Global Grassroots, WorldServe International and Mama Maji to deliver critically needed WASH access for women in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

In Africa, women and girls bear the burden of water collection and spend their days walking miles, waiting in long lines and experiencing harassment for water that is often unsafe to drink.  Evidence shows that access to clean water is linked to improved reproductive health, increased income, decreased gender-based violence, and reduced risk of water-borne illness.

“Lack of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene access, compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, is plunging women back into poverty,” said Monica Ellis, CEO of campaign co-founding partner Global Water Challenge (GWC), whose coalition efforts have delivered clean water to over 2 million people across Africa, India, the US and Latin America. “This issue is urgent, and when you invest in empowering a woman through clean water, you invest in her ability to Live, Learn, Earn, Lead and Thrive.”

“This is a time, like no other, where we must come together to ensure that women and girls in need have WASH access,” said Megan Long, campaign chair, former collegiate lacrosse player and co-founder of The Chris Long Foundation. “Water4Her is a unique platform for people, athletes, influencers and sponsors to lend their voices and invest in critical resources to accomplish that.”

Water4Her campaign funding will be deployed towards high-impact program collaborations including:

· Kenya – With Mama Maji, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women innovate with water, will deploy their Shule Maji Mamas (Swahili for “school water mothers”) to maintain water infrastructure including boreholes and wells at 30 schools as a business – vending water and WASH products to ensure that the schools maintain their infrastructure and that 25,000 – 30,000 people have clean water access.

· Tanzania – With WorldServe International, a leading provider of clean water systems in East Africa, water4Her will increase water access for 35,000 – 48,000 people with a focus on improved sanitation and hygiene facilities in households, schools and at health care facilities while helping women’s groups to engage in income-generating activities.

· Rwanda – Working with Global Grassroots, a community-based nonprofit organization that operates a social venture incubator for undereducated women, water4Her will support the ongoing Women’s Water Leadership Initiative by launching 6-8 additional women-led water ventures to reach 15,000 – 25,000 people with safe, clean water access.

· Uganda – With World Vision USA, a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy in nearly 100 countries, water4Her will support new water systems to supply water to 9 villages, reaching 25,000 people and 4,500 households – including 12,750 women and girls and support 4,000 women and girls to become strong, empowered household decision makers.

water4Her will help empower 100,000 women through water – with focus on social-digital outreach to mobilize 100,000 people to take the water4Her pledge at water4Her.org and commit to five key actions.

· Understand the significance of how lack of clean water access is a key barrier to women’s empowerment and share the urgency of the water4Her mission with others

· Rally family, friends, colleagues, and networks to start a water4Her Giving Team

· Contribute at least $25 to help provide a woman and her family with access to clean water

· Participate in the Hike4Her event on Saturday, March 20, 2021, to raise awareness around World Water Day about the millions of women who struggle with the daily burden of collecting water

· Take one additional action from the water4Her Involvement Hub on water4her.org/hub 

#LetsHandleThis

#LetsHandleThis is our rallying cry for water4Her because we know that when women work together we have always overcome great challenges. Now, more than ever, we need to unite for women and girls. Every woman should have the means to reach her full potential. Join the movement of women who are helping to empower women through access to clean water. Use the hashtag #LetsHandleThis when sharing water4Her updates on your social media platforms.