748 million people don’t have access to clean water.

Clean and safe drinking water is so much more than a clean bill of health. The lack of water impedes every segment of life: from socioeconomic development, to simply having enough water to grow enough food for a family. Clean water improves and changes lives.

Health

On a given day, more than 1,400 children under the age of five will perish due to the lack of access to clean and safe water. That's 1,400 people who will never get an education, have the chance to see the beauty of the Earth around them or have the opportunity to change the world. It's 1,400 people too many. By providing sources of sanitary, accessible water to communities impacted by the global water shortage, 2.5 million lives can be saved on a yearly basis.

Women and children

For women and children, obtaining water translates to a rigorous journey to the closest water source, which is often miles away. The trek alone to water sources are often filled with danger for women: the road to water for a woman usually is replete with sexual harrassment and the threat of assault. Once water is collected, it's usually contaminated with germs and waterborne diseases. On a global scale, an estimated 200 million work hours are spent each day by women and their children - simply to secure a basic life necessity for their families.

Future

A lot can be accomplished by women and children if their efforts are funneled in a more efficient direction. Women can, instead of having their dignity stripped away by doing nothing but procuring water all day, feel empowered by the opportunity to work and make something of themselves. The potential of the lost 200 million work hours per day in developing countries are infinite. When children receive an education they can, in turn, make a positive impact on the world around them. Many possibilities occur if something as simple as clean water is available to everyone, not just those in fully developed countries.