Waterborne disease is the number one killer of children in Africa. In barren stretches of Africa, water is so scarce that it can only be found in stagnant ponds or dying streambeds. Each day, families trek up to five miles to fill containers with toxic, disgusting water. At the same time, animals are drinking and urinating in it! Animal carcasses often lie rotting at the edge of the water.

It's hard to imagine anyone drinking this toxic, muddy water. But for eight of ten rural families, it is the only water they have - this revolting "cesspool soup."

When these little children drink this putrid water, parasites such as tapeworm and liver fluke thrive in their tiny, defenseless bodies, keeping them weak and sick until they give out and die. Others develop diarrhea and dysentery. They can no longer even absorb the few nutrients from their meager food, so they die of malnutrition. To compound this tragedy, three out of ten children subsisting on this foul water are struck by a killer plague, which has long been eradicated in the west - Typhoid Fever.

Due to your generosity, CHRF has been able to bring clean, disease-free water to tens of thousands of children in over 110 villages and schools.

 

In 2003, CHRF built 16 community water systems, serving over 6,500 people.