GRUNDFOS FOUNDATION WATER Water is a must for girls in school Girls’ educational opportunities are particularly affected by the global water crisis. Not only can contaminated water make them too sick to attend school, but they also typically shoulder the burden of collecting water for their families. Losing out on an education impacts their economic prospects in the future. In Kacheliba, Kenya, Munira is in eighth grade and works hard at her primary subjects. She also takes voluntary classes with a special focus on how to help others. - There’s a project that trained me as a ‘peer educator’ to give me knowl - edge and training to help others, she says. You can never find a person to advise you for free, so at school, as a peer educator, I try to solve [my friends’] problems and advise them. I like to help because many people are struggling. When Munira arrived at the boarding school in Kacheliba, however, things were much different. There was no safe water, so she and her classmates had to trek down to the river. - When I started in the school in 2020, we would struggle with long distances to find water, says Munira. A dangerous task The girls missed classes and faced many dangers to collect water for their basic necessities like drinking, cooking, and washing. - Fetching water at the river affected my learning at school because [we missed] lessons. Also, when we went to the river, dangerous strangers A s a peer educator, Munira (third from left) helps struggling class- mates solve their problems. Photo: Water Mission would sneak around the girls and try to engage us. The river water itself was a constant threat as well. Because it was conta minated, the girls were often sick. Even the act of collecting water could be deadly. - One Saturday, my friends and I went to the river to get water, wash our clothes, and take a bath, Munira tells us. A shadow falls over her otherwise smil- ing face as she describes how a storm downriver caused a sudden flash flood. - I was swept away by the water 15 meters down the river. Luckily, I found a stone to grab onto, but the wind was blowing so hard. A man came and grabbed my hand and took me to shore. Even now, I swear I never go to that river. After her experience nearly drowning, the term ended and Munira went home for a school break. - When we came back, there was water at school! 32
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