The power of a glass of water

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You turn on the kitchen faucet and in less than a second the water starts running. Transparent, clean, sanitized, ready so that you and your family can enjoy something that seems as simple as a glass of water without worries. However, in many other countries like Chad the reality is very different. Women in the communities must make between two and four trips a day to have water in their homes. Water that is dirty and is especially harmful to the little ones . In the 21st century, more than 1.5 million children under five years of age die annually from diseases related to the consumption of dirty water, such as diarrhea. Therefore, mothers do everything in their power to change the situation . And what would you do to give the best to those you love most? The long walk to the water Achta Fadoul is one such example. She, her husband and her six children live in Midjiguir, 23 kilometers from Mangalmé (Chad). They work in the fields growing sorghum and millet and often have to ask their neighbors for grain to survive.

In Midjiguir there is no source of clean water , so Achta has to go out and look for it. Depending on the time of year, Achta collects water from different places. water-oxfam Achta with her youngest son © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Intermón During the rainy season he walks to a pond near his house: “During the rainy season the distance is not important and I can make four trips, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.” However, the water they get “is not good,” but it is the Albania Mobile Number List only one they have . In the dry season the source is further away: “I can only make two trips. It's two hours there and two hours back, so when I get back from getting the water it's time to eat. Then I go back out.” However, Achta says “it is cleaner water.” water-oxfam Many collect the water from a puddle © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Intermon water-oxfam Achta with her sick daughter Safia © Pablo Tosco / Oxfam Intermón Achta has to do this work alone, since her eldest daughter (Noura, eight years old) is still too young to accompany her and stays at home to take care of her little brothers.



Achta loads the two jugs of water on the balancer and goes out to get it, running the dangers that come with it, such as attacks from wild animals or rape . She carries 25 liters of water on each shoulder, which causes severe pain: “My back and body hurt. It's not easy to be well. If I could have water here in my yard it would be a great joy for me.” A little help can make a difference The health of his children worries him a lot . “My children fall sick frequently. The water we drink during the rainy season is very dirty and full of worms. Sometimes we filter it, but others take it unfiltered and this causes illness in children. It immediately causes diarrhea, discomfort and stomach pain .” If she could, Achta would not hesitate for a second to take his children to the hospital, but his precarious economic situation prevents her from doing so: “We stayed. If God gives the child health, he will recover it, if not, we can't do anything, even if they die. The hospital asks for money and we don't have it.” So that Achta and so many women like her can stop fearing for the lives of their children, your help is essential. By contributing your grain of sand, wells and clean water points can be built near the communities so that everyone has access.