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
Grace and Josh
For her farm and family

Grace is wise and driven. She is a mother of four children, a grandmother to eight, and she is recognized by many in her community, and across Kenya, as an exemplary farmer and businesswoman. Grace credits her success to financing and the opportunities small, affordable loans make possible - like safe water for her farm and family.

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Toilets are the beginning of bright futures

Before Vijayalakshmi had a toilet for her family to use at home, she and her children joined the more than 678 million others in India who lacked access to a safe toilet. Unsafe and unhealthy, Vijayalakshmi had to find an affordable, sustainable way to give her family a sanitation solution at home. Through Water.org's partners in India, she did. Read her story.

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Safe water and sanitation brings smiles and playtime

When you increase access to affordable financing, you increase smiles. This is because women like Rosalyn can finally afford to give their families some of life's most basic necessities. Read Rosalyn's story.

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Water for his family and his village

Bakari is a young man who lives in rural Tanzania south of Dar es Salaam with his parents and siblings. Growing up in this region Bakari is all too familiar with the water crisis. Read more about how Bakari solved his family's water crisis and that of many in his village.

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She can move mountains

Yolanda is a hopeful, determined woman. We know this because every day she works to provide water for her family. Her home sits above the city of Cusco in the Andes Mountain range at more than 2,000 feet from the center of town. Yolanda purchases buckets of water from residents in town. At least every other morning, she makes her way down the steep, rocky road from her house to buy as much water as she can carry back up the more than one mile vertical trek.

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The power of water for Tamenech's family

The power of water ended Tamenech and Joseph’s water crisis. Not only did Tamenech want to prevent her children from walking to rivers or ponds to find water like she did as a child, but her role as a nurse gave her the insight to know how unhealthy that water is. Read Tamenech's story.

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It's time for school

Water makes time for school possible for kids in Rasulpur and around the world. When kids have access to safe water at home they can walk to school instead of walk to collect water.

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Nelly's heart

Water is a smart investment. The best investment the world can make to reduce disease, increase income, keep kids in school, and change lives. Nelly believed this to be true, and now she knows it for a fact. Thanks to Water.org’s smart solution known as WaterCredit, the hardworking, loving, single mom who wanted to give her family safe water and a better life was able to do it.

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Ladreo and his family in Peru
Ladreo ended his family's water crisis

Through our partner, Mi Banco, Ladreo took out a small loan to fund the construction of a bathroom and a water storage tank that connects to a shower and a faucet. Now Ladreo’s family home is complete. Read Ladreo's story.

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Zenebech's story

Zenebech lives in a rural village a few hours south of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Among the other mud and thatch homes, Zenebech raises her six children with her husband. Zenebech told others in her village about how a small loan changed their world and it could change theirs too. "I didn't want them to suffer any longer. I want them to be healthy like my kids". Read more about why she wanted safe water for her neighbors.

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Toilet
Hamsaveni and Rajesh give their daughters a bright future

India is the second most populous country in the world, with more than 1 billion citizens. 678 million people living in India lack access to a safe toilet. Read about how families are using small, affordable loans to end this practice and give their kids bright futures.

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A woman named Zawelde using a water tap to fill her mug outside of her home in Uganda.
For women the water crisis is personal

For women around the world, the struggle to gather water for their families is a personal, everyday battle. Water.org empowers women to get safe water by helping them access affordable financing through something we call WaterCredit.

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Together, we can empower more families with safe water.

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