Have you ever been lost in the woods — literally or figuratively? Have you rationed your resources, preparing for the worst? Families who can’t access clean water feel this kind of desperation every day. Blogger Rachel Teodoro has met some of these families. Read one of their stories, and learn a simple way you can give them hope!
News & Stories
From the Field
Carrying water can be a pain in the neck
On average, that woman walks about 6K, or 3.7 miles, to get water for her family. Depending on the size of that jerrycan, she’s carrying up to 44 pounds when it’s full. And carrying water that way could have long-term negative health effects.
Special Features
Water within reach: Compare two 5-year-olds’ walk for water
APRIL 11, 2017, KENYA — Cheru and Kamama live in rural Kenya, and like millions of African children, they help their mothers carry water every day. Though the 5-year-olds live just 16 miles apart, for one, getting water is a three-hour struggle; for the other, it’s a seven-minute stroll. Walk with them.
From the Field
What’s in the water will make you sick
Monica is like millions of women in Africa who carry home dirty water from a waterhole. What’s in the water makes her children sick.
From the Field
Walk for water: Moms bear the burden when water is scarce
Two Kenyan mothers desire education, independence, and health for their daughters, but only one has assurance her daughter’s life can be better than her own.
Voices
A Kenya childhood: Growing up without clean water
Growing up in rural Kenya, Sam Irungu knew the daily struggle of collecting dirty water from the early age of 5. Today, he works as a software engineer for World Vision! He attributes this change to God: an answer to his mother’s prayer to redeem the life of God’s children for a better tomorrow.
![Dira, left, encourages her 12-year-old sister, Phinat, right, in her studies. Dira is the sixth of eight children and had to leave school in the second grade so she could scavenge for junk to help her family earn money after her father died. Later, with World Vision’s help, she got nonformal education and vocational training and now runs a hairdresser shop in her town of Battambang, Cambodia. Because of her experience, she wants her younger siblings to have a different life, including Phinat. “I want them to study until [they] finish class,” she says. “I don’t want Phinat to scavenge because she is too young. Scavengers face risk, such as rape and traffic accidents.” Phinat has the second-highest grades in her class of 30 students. “My older sister encourages me to study hard,” Phinat says. “She doesn’t allow me to pick up junk.”](https://wvusstatic.com/www/uploads/2017/04/OTG-Email-Hero-Early-6-Ed-Overcome-3-Cambodia-D055-0763-31_419222-crop-640x400.jpg)
From the Field
10 girls who overcame the odds to attend school
Every day millions of girls don’t get to go to school. These 10 were determined to go anyway. Learn how you can help girls education odds improve.
From the Field
Former sponsored child reflects on fulfilled dreams
Child sponsorship opened doors for a Bangladeshi child to pursue his dream of a career in education and impact his community.
Voices
Walking with the poor: Solving the global water crisis
Rich Stearns reflects on how when you partner with World Vision, you are walking with the poor. Mothers, fathers, and children feel your love and support across the miles. And with that comes a sense of God’s love. Knowing they’re not alone in their struggles lightens their load.
From the Field
10 awe-inspiring weather photos for World Meteorological Day
On World Meteorological Day join us as we behold the beauty of our skies and revere God, the Artist who set it all into place.
From the Field
World Water Day: Every 10 seconds one person gets clean water
As we commemorate World Water Day, March 22, World Vision celebrates reaching its 2020 goal to bring clean water to one person every 10 seconds. Well-drilling teams, engineers, geologists, and community leaders in dozens of countries worked tirelessly through 2016 to accomplish that goal three years ahead of schedule. Ultimately, we hope to provide access to clean water to every person in every community where we work around the world.
Voices
Bringing happiness to a child named Happy
Many names help give meaning to a person’s life. For International Day of Happiness, we’re celebrating children around the world with the name Happy! Hear what makes some of our Happy-named staff happy, and see a fun way that you can bring a little happiness to the world today.
