One of the greatest causes of poverty in Africa is the lack of access to clean drinking water.

Water sources are often miles from villages, so able-bodied members of a family (often children) are forced to spend hours a day simply finding and transporting water.
A typical jerry can in Africa weighs over 40 lbs when it’s completely full.

Unclean water resources contribute to the spread of waterborne diseases like typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea & malaria. Children are especially susceptible to these diseases because of their young immune systems.
Plus using wastewater for crop growth, means people consume foods that can contain chemicals or disease-causing organisms transferred by the wastewater.

Water scarcity in Africa prevents many young children from attending school, helping their families in water gathering instead. The lost potential of education hinders children from breaking out of the cycle of equal opportunity.
Lack of clean water also means the absence of sanitary facilities and latrines in schools, and so once puberty hits, this has serious impact on girls.

Rainwater is still an underutilized water source in Africa, which is why PF encourage donors to support the installation of harvesting tanks at various project locations.