An hour from Kenya’s capital the landscape shifts from grassy plains to hills rich with red dirt and green farms. In these hills, sits a village where families grow crops and tend their herds. They are hardworking and resourceful. Their incomes may not be more than a few dollars a day, but their determination to make a good life for everyone in the village is strong.

The families here support one another so much that they’ve formed a self-help group. The group, which is a small voluntary association of people who come together for the purpose of solving their common struggles, discussed their individual household needs for water. They all agree access to water can improve their lives and livelihoods—increasing their health, the crops they can grow, and the number of animals they can feed. After determining water access a priority issue, the group members sought a solution. Because Water.org has worked across Kenya to increase access to water through affordable financing, they did not have to look far.

The group learned that their local bank, Water.org’s partner Equity Bank, offered small loans for water and sanitation. Using the power of their community and their collective savings, these men and women approached the bank to obtain a loan with hopes of solving their water crisis. Guaranteed by the money the group pooled together, Equity Bank lent the families enough money for all homes in the village to establish rain storage tanks on their properties. With monthly payments of less than $20 USD per month, the families now have access to water at home year-round, for years to come.

The people we serve are change agents capable of transforming their lives and communities. They just need a hand up, not a handout, to accomplish this. The reality is there are millions of people in need like these families in rural Kenya, who, with access to affordable financing, are willing and able to take a small, affordable loan to solve their own water and sanitation problems immediately.

We believe in the power of water. And, we believe that when you put the power of ownership into the hands of the people in need, the solution is more likely to succeed and last because they have a personal investment to see it through. When you donate to Water.org, you help put the power of water into the hands of people in need who stand ready to change their lives and their communities. Donate today.