Lack of access to clean water and hygiene tools at home and at school affects girls more acutely than boys.
Education
Girls most commonly dropout of school after Grade 6 because there aren’t private latrines where they can relieve themselves safely or manage their menstrual cycle. When girls stay in school longer, they are more likely to start their own businesses and, in turn, it has been shown that women are more likely to reinvest profits from business to promote their family’s health, children’s education, and future business growth.
For every year a girl spends in school she raises her family income by up to 20%.[1]
Independence
When girls drop out of school early, often they are married off too young. This puts their entire future at risk as a cascade of events typically follows early marriage including higher rates of complication during childbirth, domestic violence and poverty.
Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for 15 to 19 year-old girls worldwide. [2]
Safety
Girls and women are typically responsible for the long, arduous walks to retrieve water from local lakes and streams using jerry cans that weigh upwards of 40 pounds when full. These trips take hours and can be dangerous, leaving girls vulnerable to rape and assault as they journey along remote roads and pathways.
In 2016, new HIV infections among teenage girls were 44% higher than boys in the same age group. [3]
When you support WaterSchool, you are helping to change the future for women and girls in Uganda.
Increase Access to Clean Water
Whether it’s improving access to clean, safe water through Solar Disinfection (SODIS) or through rainwater collection tanks, the availability of clean water improves the lives of women and girls by cutting out the need to walk long distances to collect water on a daily basis enabling them to stay in school or work at home or a business.
Improve Hygiene and Sanitation
Improved hygiene and sanitation makes for healthier homes, children and families. This helps girls stay in school, and empowers women to invest in their businesses and homesteads.
Champion Young Moms and Vulnerable Girls
When young women and girls have access to water, they can focus on their education or business—this prevents them from dropping out, entering an early marriage or becoming pregnant before they are ready. For those that do become young moms, WaterSchool provides the support and resources they need to be excellent moms to their babies as they pursue completing their education. From scholarships for academic and vocational training, to parenting support, and financial resources, we walk alongside these young moms on their journey. We know that when moms thrive, their children do too.
This International Women's Day, celebrate the resilient women in your life by meeting a new one: Robin. What Robin shares of her journey will leave you both heartbroken by her past and hopeful for her future.
“When we invest in women and girls, we are investing in the people who invest in everyone else.”