WaterAid - Give water - give life!

Imagine having to walk six hours a day to collect water that you know is unclean and will make you and your family sick, imagine if you had nowhere to go to the toilet. It's hard for us to comprehend, yet, this is the daily reality for one in eight of the world's population who lack access to clean water and over 2.5 billion people who have nowhere safe or hygienic to go to the toilet. Shockingly, diarrhoea is the second biggest killer of children, and together, water and sanitation-related diseases kill 4,000 children every day.

Poor water and sanitation impacts women the most as they bear the burden of collecting water and looking after sick or dying children. As girls, they are denied an education as they stay home to help collect water, or as young adults they drop out of school because of inadequate sanitation facilities.

WaterAid is a leading independent organisation that enables the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and improved hygiene. These basic human rights underpin health, education and livelihoods and form the first, essential step in overcoming poverty. We work in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region, and campaign globally with our partners to realise our vision of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation.

Since 1981, WaterAid has reached over 12 million of the world's poorest and most marginalised people, with access to water and sanitation services. Working with local partners, who understand local issues, WaterAid provides them with the skills and support to help communities set up and manage practical and sustainable projects that meet their real needs.

Communities like Manica village, Niassa province, in northern Mozambique, which now has six new wells. Essenati Obady (pictured) says:

"Before we didn't have enough water to wash with and so a lot of people here had scabies during the dry season. There was a lot of diarrhoea and vomiting too. We often heard of people dying from diarrhoea.
Now the new well is much better because it is protected and we can collect three or four buckets each a day. We use it for washing, cooking and everything at home - to clean our clothes, plates and house. The water here is good and we don't get cholera."

We are delighted that Look Models International Inc. has chosen to support WaterAid and raise awareness of the importance of the global water and sanitation crisis. For more information about WaterAid's work and to get involved, visit www.wateraid.org

WaterAid is a registered charity numbers 288701 (England and Wales) and SC039479 (Scotland)