Why Water?
Water Facts
Use these facts to help meet your fundraising goals!
An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typical person in the developing world uses
in a whole day.
4,500 children die each day world-wide due to the lack of clean, safe drinking water.
884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately 1 in 8 people.
Investment in drinking water and sanitation would result in 272 million more school attendance days a year.
Samburu women and girls walk up to 12 miles every day in search of water. Every facet of women and girls
lives are impacted because of this: women do not have time to generate income and care for themselves and
their children, girls are uneducated and the entire community suffers from disease because the water they are
drinking comes from gaping hand dug wells that are contaminated due to animal fecal matter.
The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. Diarrhea, not AIDS, malaria or measles, is the
leading cause of death among children under the age of 5 in Samburu, Kenya.
Investment in safe drinking water and sanitation contributes to economic growth. The estimated return is
between $3-34 for each $1 invested.
Since 2005, The Samburu Project has:
Drilled 40 wells bringing clean, safe drinking water over 40,000 people.
Watched the number of girls going to school in our communities triple.
Empowered women by giving them the opportunity to pursue micro-enterprise initiatives.
Supported communities in the development of agricultural initiatives to achieve self sustenance
and income generation.
Put a big dent in the world water crisis.