The Problem
Unsafe water and poor sanitation are stealing childhoods across rural Kenya.
In Kenya, 72.9% of the population resides in rural areas, and 63.2% of rural Kenyans lack proper water infrastructure. The consequences ripple through every part of life.
The Rural Water Crisis
Unsafe water sources — seasonal streams, earth ponds, and unprotected hand-dug wells — expose communities to cholera, bilharzia, and typhoid.
Sanitation Deficiency
Worldwide, 2.5 billion people are without adequate toilets and 1 billion practice open defecation. Widespread open defecation and a shortage of latrines create disease vectors that hit children hardest.
The Human Cost
- 340,000 children under five died from diarrhoeal diseases in 2013.
- 1,000 people die every day from water- and sanitation-related illness.
- 10–20% absenteeism among pubescent girls in schools.
- 272 million additional school-attendance days each year are possible with proper water & sanitation investment.
The Gender Burden
Women spend up to 60% of each day collecting water — collectively 110 million work hours every day. This limits time for education, income generation, and childcare, perpetuating cycles of poverty across generations.