All stories

Together, we've empowered millions of people with access to safe water and sanitation. We invite you to meet some of them and read their stories.

All stories
A Better Path
A better path to water

Gary White, Co-Founder & CEO of Water.org, has been working to improve lives with access to safe water for more than twenty years. These two decades of experience led Gary to realize that the traditional cycle of philanthropy (spend money to provide water, and raise money for the next village) would never solve the water crisis for every person on the planet. There had to be a better path.

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Leneriza Story
The cost of Leneriza's water, then and now

The people with the least access to safe water are spending the most to get it. People like Leneriza.

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India 0
How our solutions are working in India

Access to safe water is a conduit to help people achieve their full potential. But, access to safe water can be expensive when you are a family living below the poverty line in India. Families living in poverty often pay up to 15% of their household income for water services. It is in this juxtaposition that we understand why some may be prohibited from achieving much more than survival. And, it is why Water.org is connecting with institutions in India to bring solutions to meet the water and sanitation needs of families.

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women in India
Three moms and their stories

Narrated by Jodie Foster, watch the inspiring stories of three mothers who broke the cycle of poverty and found a path to water. Each from different parts of the world, these women shared the need for access to water and sanitation at home. Discover how they overcame their water crises with small, affordable loans. The loans empowered each woman with the funds needed to purchase safe water and sanitation solutions for their families. As moms, these resources further empowered them to do more for themselves and their families.

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Lakshmee
She changed her world

After learning that small, affordable loans were available from their local bank to fund needed water taps or toilets, Lakshmee wanted to tell her friends and neighbors. She knew this could change all of their lives, and their community. Read more about how access to safe water and sanitation empowers moms to do more for themselves and their families.

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Semambo coffee
Semambo Grows

Upon meeting Semambo one discovers she is truly living out the beauty of her dreams. Strong and bold like the coffee she grows, she overcame obstacles that once stood between her and the ability to earn an income to support her family.

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Carrying a vessel
Her crisis

Today, 2.1 billion people lack access to safe water. Each one has great potential, yet the burden of the water crisis hinders their every attempt to break free from the cycle of poverty. When it comes down to who will bear the burden of daily water collection, it’s women and children.

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Grace
Safe water and pregnancy

Grace’s baby was due to arrive any day. Grace lives in a small rural village several hours south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Thirty-three million people lack access to safe water in her country. Read about how a small, affordable loan empowered Grace and her husband to give their young family safe water and a bright future.

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Sariati
Sariati's water crisis is over

For generations, women in Sariati’s family faced an impossible choice when it came to giving their families water - certain death without water, or possible death from consuming unsafe water. For these women in Indonesia and millions of others around the world, collecting water would take up to six hours each day.

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Fermin and his family
How a small loan empowered a family in Peru

With a small, affordable loan Fermin gave his family water, a toilet, and so much more. The few months it will take Fermin to repay his loan will seem like no time compared to the long-term benefits his family will experience by having water and sanitation at home.

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Rose Uganda 1
Rose's story, then and now

Four years ago we shared Rose’s story. At the time she had just taken a small, affordable loan to give her family a toilet and water at home. Since that time, life has only improved for Rose...

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Sophon
Giving babies a healthy start with water

For Sophon, there was nothing beautiful about the water-related burdens she endured much of her life in rural Cambodia. She wanted to end those burdens for her son.

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Together, we can empower more families with safe water.

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