OUR NEW CAMPAIGN - 'We Fund Water Projects, Not Just Wells'

At Empower, we are committed to providing Sub-Saharan African communities with safe and clean water to unlock opportunities for young girls, enabling them to live and learn without the burden of water collection for their home.

We believe people can change everything.

That's why, alongside The Water Project, we are launching a brand new campaign 'We Fund Water Projects, Not Just Wells'.

You can dig a whole closer to the community, you can snap a photo of water flowing and claim it as a success however we believe change will only come with sustainable development. Our goal isn't merely to get water flowing, but to have clean water flowing for years and years to come.

Empower is working very hard to build long-term, truly sustainable water projects that are held to a measurable standard of success over the long term. We're less interested in an ever growing tally of projects than we are in seeing lives changed (TWP, 2015).

Empower works closely with local in-country teams and partners to develop clean water programs alongside our hero volunteer, as well as the incredible local community. We carefully select implementing partners who have long term relationships and commitments to the people they serve.

The Process

Community Engagement
Ensure the communities we serve are involved at every step of the process.

Community Education
Clean, safe water can be a new concept in a village. Understanding concepts like hand-washing and proper use of latrines is key to maximizing the benefits of a new well.

Installing the Project
From filing for permits to installing a well pump or other hardware, a lot goes into the construction phase of a water project like a well. We ensure the installation is sustainable, thorough and environmentally friendly.

Education Follow-up and Handing Over
The exciting moment when water flows and a community celebrates their new water source is just the beginning.

Monitoring and Evaluation
Did it work? Is it still working? Was anyone really helped? If we don't ask, we'll never know. 

With this process, Empower have changed hundreds of people's lives and with your help, we know we can help thousands and thousands more.

When you donate, you are unlocking opportunities for an entire community. Opportunities that at the moment, they can only dream about.

Make their dreams come true. Donate today, for a freer and happier tomorrow.

Empower | Women and Water Quiz

Here at Empower, we believe being informed and aware of situations happening around the world is crucial for our understanding in how we can help.

How about joining in our quiz? Be sure to let us know of your answers on Twitter - no cheating!

1. How many times as likely as boys are girls under the age of 15 expected to be the family member responsible for fetching water?

2. What % of households rely on women to get the family's water when there is no water source in the home?

3. How many hours does Sub-Saharan Africa alone lose per year collecting water?

4. Half of the HIV – infected population in all but four of the forty-eight countries that comprise SSA are women (Lewis, 2009). TRUE or FALSE?

5. What is the average distance that women and children walk for water in Africa?

6. How many hours do women and girls living without a toilet spend finding a place to go each day?

7. What is the average weight of water women in Africa carry on their heads?

8. Women are responsible for 72% of the water collected in Sub-Saharan Africa. TRUE or FALSE?

9.What % do women reinvest of their income back into their own households in Africa, compared to 30-40% by men?

10. How many school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases?

1. Twice as likely
2. 64%
3. 40 billion hours
4. TRUE.
5. Six kilometers (3.7 miles).
6. 266 million hours
7. 50 pounds
8. TRUE
9. 90%
10. 443 million

"Remember, you can donate with one click of a button to empower African girls today, for a freer and happier tomorrow."

References:
- Africastories.org (2015) 'Africastories — Africa Water Crisis — World Water Facts'.Available at http://www.africastories.org/africa-water-crisis/world-water-facts/ Accessed on Web. 26 Nov 2015.
- Charitywater.org,(2015) 'Why Water? Impact Of The Global Water Crisis'. Available at http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/. Accessed on Web. 26 Nov. 2015.
-  Gender.cawater-info.net. (2015) 'Facts About Women And Water'.Available at http://www.gender.cawater-info.net/what_is/facts_e.htm. Accessed on Web. 26 Nov. 2015.
- The Water Project. (2015) 'Empower The Girl Child. Give Water.'. Available at http://thewaterproject.org/. Accessed on Web. 26 Nov. 2015.
- Water for the Ages. (2009) '10 Facts On Women And Water'. Available at http://waterfortheages.org/2009/12/02/10-facts-on-women-and-water/. Accessed on Web. 26 Nov. 2015.
- Water.org. (2015)'Water Crisis: Women & Children'. Available at http://water.org/water-crisis/women-children-facts/. Accessed on Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Speaking to... Upendo

Up until recently, Upendo didn't go attend school as she had to collect water for her family...

"Hello, I am Upendo, I am 12 years old and I love to dance and skip with my best friends. I live in Ghana with my mother, father and two younger brothers who are 6 and 8 years old. My father is a farmer and grows food to sell and for us to eat and my mother stays at home to look after us all and collects our water.

I stopped going to school when I was 9 because I needed to help my mother collect the water every day for our family. I liked going to school and learning about different things, especially maths, as I was good at adding up but now I can’t go. I help my brothers with their homework sometimes because I miss learning but I get upset that my brothers get to go to school every day with their friends when I can’t. I need to help my mother collect clean water from the well so we can wash ourselves and so my dad can water his crops.

I don't like collecting water because it’s difficult and it makes me not feel very well. The pot that I carry water in makes my back ache on the walk back and my feet have blisters and are sore. My mother has to make me stop on the way home because sometimes I get dizzy from the heat and can’t see properly and if I dropped the pot of water we have to go back and it takes us hours. We also have to get home before it gets dark and otherwise we are not very safe and men shout at us and touch us when we don't want them too.

I wish the well was closer to our home because then it would take us so much less time to collect and I might be able to go back to school again and learn. I wish I could be like my brothers who get to go to school but I am a girl so I have to help in our house. My other friends who are girls stay at home and collect water too, that is just our job.

When I have some spare time I go outside and pretend to teach children because my dream is to be a teacher and help other girls and boys learn lots of different things but my parents say that I need to keep collecting water because otherwise we can’t grow food to eat."

...but with your support, Empower and our fantastic volunteers have built 2 water wells in her local community so now she can fulfill her dreams, and attend school.

On behalf of Upendo, her fellow school friends and their families, we say THANK YOU.

You can help girls just like Upendo by donating, with just one click of a button. Please, empower African girls today, for a freer and happier tomorrow.