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If the distance a girl has to travel to get clean water is reduced by just 15 minutes,
her school attendance will increase by 12%.
200 million hours
per day retrieving water
Globally, women and girls spend
worldwide
largest number
of water-stressed countries
Sub-Saharan Africa has the
663 million
people lack access to clean water around the world.
80%
of illnesses in developing countries
are linked to poor water and sanitation
If the distance a girl has to travel to get clean water is reduced by just 15 minutes,
her school attendance will increase by 12%.
200 million hours
per day retrieving water
Globally, women and girls spend
worldwide
largest number
of water-stressed countries
Sub-Saharan Africa has the
663 million
people lack access to clean water around the world.
80%
of illnesses in developing countries
are linked to poor water and sanitation
And her family’s health has greatly improved. “I am no longer making regular trips to the hospital in search of treatment for waterborne diseases,” she says.
“This new water source has saved me so much pain from walking for so many kilometres to the river,” says Patricia. The 56-year-old looks after her two grandchildren in Irkaat.
Since the well has been in place, her walk to get water has been reduced from three hours one way to just 20 minutes.
“
I never knew it could be like this,” Beatrice says of how her life has changed. “Because I have clean water so close to home, I get to go to school now. I can be a nurse, an artist or whatever I want.”
“My back hurts,” she said last year.
“The jug weighs as much as my sister.”
Learn more here
While the trek might be over for people in Irkaat, millions of others still face a long journey to clean water. “Clean water is what Brita stands for. It’s about time we stood up for it and lead by example. Big change starts small.” says Au. Purchasing a specially-marked Brita products can help provide clean water to a developing community in Kenya.
A small decision can make a huge impact.
The Filter for Good project™ has just begun. Considering global water issues, Brita plans to work on a second water project with WE in another area of Kenya.
To help, Canadians can buy one of four specially marked ME to WE Brita products. In making these small everyday choices, Canadians can help provide access to clean water for people in need like Beatrice.
But the only way Brita was able to make the borehole was through the help of Canadians.
“It starts with being conscious of the choices we make and the impact we are capable of,” says Au. “We can make a better world, just by making better water and it starts here at home.”
Irkaat is a village located in the Maasai Mara region. The surrounding land is used for growing crops like maize and beans, but drought and disease have plagued the land for years. The community lacks basic social services and the main water source is far away.
That’s one of the reasons Brita partnered with WE, to build a borehole in the community --
to help girls like Beatrice and the members
of her community by providing access to
clean water.
Experts surveyed the land around Irkaat to find the location of the best underground clean-water source. Once found, the borehole was drilled,
and a pump was established at the drill site. Pipes were laid to provide water access points in the community, including a water kiosk right outside of the local school.
They drilled the borehole well 250 metres deep
to an aquifer and installed solar panels to draw the water.
The impact of gaining access to clean water
is immediate. School attendance has soared while cases of waterborne illnesses have dramatically declined. Brita also knew that drilling a borehole meant that Beatrice and other girls would be able to go to school, and still fulfill their duty of bringing water home thanks to the proximity of the water kiosk to the school.
It’s reported that 80 per cent of illnesses in the developing world are linked to poor water
and sanitation.
In countries like Kenya, it is a cultural tradition that women and girls are responsible for gathering water for their families, and they often have to walk far distances to the closest source. This simply doesn’t leave time for the girls to go to school regularly.
Statistics show that if the distance
a girl has to travel to get clean water is reduced by just 15 minutes,
and water-related diseases cause the majority of illnesses and deaths in developing countries.
While Beatrice's story has a happy ending
thanks to Canadians’ generosity, the sobering reality is that access to clean water still remains
a huge problem.
In fact, The World Economic Forum announced in 2015 that it's the number one global risk to industry and society.
In 2016, Brita partnered with WE to empower Canadians to understand how small choices can lead to big changes. Together Brita and WE created a borehole to help girls like Beatrice access clean water. Through the Filter for Good™ campaign Canadians have the power to provide someone in Irkaat with clean water for one year. Every purchase of a specially-marked Brita purchase will unlock this life changing impact.
“We want to show Canadians the lasting impact that small changes in our everyday choices
can have globally,” says Sarah Au, Brita’s marketing manager.
first-hand that small changes can make a big difference. Until last year, she would wake up before dawn every morning to fetch water from the Ewaso Ng’iro River.
It’s a 10-kilometre trek from her home in Irkaat, Kenya -- a mountainous region located in the Maasai Mara region, seven-hours away from Nairobi. While gorgeous to gaze at, some of the terrain can be difficult to navigate on foot because of steep inclines and thick vegetation.
The return trek was even more arduous as Beatrice carried a large plastic container filled to the brim with water, weighing about 40 pounds. She would affix the jug to her back with rope.
eatrice Mutai is only 13, but she knows
