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PEOPLE ARE LIVING ON OUR PLANET WITHOUT ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
The World Water Crisis
Water covers 71% of Earth’s surface. The human body is made up of 60% water. It is the most foundational resource for life! Yet, the world water crisis is a reality to millions of people on our planet, specifically in the most water-stressed parts of the world like Sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite an inspiring and growing clean water effort in the last 25 years, there are still 844 million people living without access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, these people have much less access to safe water for bathing, cooking, cleaning, livestock and growing food. Women and children spend an estimated 200 million hours daily collecting contaminated and unsafe water, leading to nearly 2,000 child deaths per day due to water-borne illnesses.
These facts aren’t even taking into account the lack of personal safety, economic stability, and proper sanitation and hygiene that accompany the world water crisis.
Opportunity for Improvement
Since the early 1990s, water scarcity in Africa has been on the radar for many humanitarian relief efforts. So much good has resulted from the influx of awareness and funding for clean water. However, because our mission is to make the most sustainable impact possible, WorldServe International has identified opportunities for improvement as we forge ahead in solving the world water crisis: According to the The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), approximately 50,000 water supply points in Africa are no longer functioning as a result of broken parts or lack of maintenance. Another inefficiency from past relief endeavors is the implementation of shallow-dug wells that do not stand the test of time for their beneficiaries. Though all wells were likely brought online with the best of intentions, a long-term plan for sustainability was absent from the bulk of them.
Our Mission
WorldServe International—working in East Africa for over two decades—attacks the world water crisis through established long-term collaboration with powerful partners to bring clean water where it can be sustainably accessed and maintained over time. Set apart by the sustainability of our sites, each clean water project is carefully planned and drilled by our fleet of drilling rigs and support vehicles. WorldServe’s model is focused on the “long haul.” We work with village leaders—including women—before, during and after the drilling process to successfully transform villages.