While visiting World Vision’s work in Zambia, we stopped at several water points to observe how women and children meet their household water needs. We were deeply moved by seeing the back-breaking efforts that women in this region of Africa repeat several times daily. Not only must they dig to find water and then carry it to their homes, they must also deal with diseases that result from impure groundwater.

The hopeful part of our trip was realizing that in the coming year, World Vision would start drilling boreholes here to provide clean water and address sanitation and hygiene needs. With these initiatives, child mortality rates, diarrheal diseases, and other illnesses will all dramatically decrease. And when women are no longer tied to the endless task of finding and transporting water, they will have time to spend on activities that make it possible for their families to live and eventually even thrive.

The gift of water builds the platform for food security, increased school attendance, small business development, and improved nutrition. I’ve witnessed the powerful transformation of communities over many years of traveling on behalf of World Vision, and the key to success has been access to clean water.

Photo: A Zambian woman collects water from a pond to carry home for her family.