Water is easy to take for granted. For those of us living in developed countries, it flows freely from our taps and costs only a few pounds per cubic metre. When we think of the cost of water, we tend to think only of its monetary value. But for those living in the rural areas of developing countries, people pay a far greater cost.
The Vital Importance of Water for Daily Life
We often use water without thinking much about it. When you brush your teeth in the morning, you use a little. Your morning shower might require 30 litres or more. When you make your morning cup of coffee, you use a bit more. The point is that we use water regularly throughout the day without any concern about whether or not it will come out of the tap. We take it for granted that we will have access to it when we need it.
The closest most people in the developed world get to experiencing the inconvenience of not having water is when they need some plumbing done and have to turn the water supply off to the house for a few hours. Then, you might go to make the plumber a cup of tea and realise there’s no water to fill the kettle. You can’t start the washing machine. The toilet won’t fill up again after you flush it.
To have running water so accessible to us that we don’t have to think about it (most of the time) is a great luxury that we have become accustomed to. But running water is not available to millions of people in other parts of the world. It’s something they have to think about every day.
Water Insecurity
Water is an essential part of daily life, including cooking, cleaning, drinking, and farming. For those living in certain parts of the world, especially in rural areas, water is often collected from a local water source. They may not have to pay any money to take water from local sources such as rivers, ponds and springs. Water from wells is generally very cheap. But the people incur other costs that are not easily earned back.
Often, water sources are a considerable distance from villages. This means that people must travel for some time just to collect the water they will use in a day. The journey to the source and back can take hours. People expend a great deal of time in the day carrying out this one task. It prevents them from engaging in other useful activities. Less time is available to tend the farms they subsist on or to carry out any other kind of work. Children are often sent on these daily trips, causing them to miss school. This significant amount of time that is taken away from people contributes to the problem of poverty.
The terrain that people must traverse in order to reach water can be treacherous and can involve hiking up and down hills and through forests. The task in itself is demanding on the body. One study looking at people’s access to water in Malawi estimated that a person would have to expend between 100 and 760 calories just to retrieve water1. Keep in mind that the journey back will be with a full and heavy container of water. Even for someone consuming the recommended daily intake of calories, this is a great source of energy expenditure at the start of the day. For a poverty stricken farmer who struggles to meet the minimum recommended calorie intake, it is going to have an even greater negative impact on quality of life.
A study looking at injuries incurred while fetching water found that 13% of people who were tasked with collecting water had been injured at least once. Fractures and dislocations were the most commonly reported injuries, which tended to happen due to falls while navigating difficult terrain2.
There have also been countless reports of problems with the water sources. This includes water contamination by pathogens, which can lead to entire communities becoming sick, or pollution of water sources by runoff from nearby farms or building projects. Some water sources are also not consistent, for example, rivers may dry up during the hotter, drier seasons. If there is a high demand for groundwater, the water source may become depleted. It is also worth noting that simply digging a well does not guarantee a long term source of water.
Wells must be constructed properly to ensure they function well for a long time. They also need to be carefully maintained and repaired properly. The Global Water Initiative found that 58% of boreholes in Ghana were in need of repair3. So, although digging a well can provide people with safe water for years to come, this is only if budgeting takes into account the cost of maintaining and repairing them over time.
Access to Water Improves Lives
Now that we’ve covered the main problems surrounding water insecurity and water sources, what happens when we get it right and we provide people with safe, reliable sources of water?
With water being conveniently close by, fetching it is no longer an arduous task. People don’t have to spend hours hiking, risking injury and spending energy on bringing water back home. Instead, they can use this time to tend their farms or work. Children can go to school and pursue a better education. When children can attend school, this helps them gain a better level of education and improves their future job prospects.
People don’t have to worry about the availability of water being dependent on the seasons. With careful choice of location, the water in a well is less likely to become contaminated. This access to clean water can also help to improve infant mortality. Contamination of water supplies can easily kill very young children.
Equally importantly, having access to water means that people have more time to spend on social and leisure activities. In these areas of the world, life is difficult and a simple convenience such as easily accessible water can make a great difference in people’s lives. It is one weight off their shoulders not having to worry about water and being able to take some time to enjoy doing something not directly related to basic survival.
This is why the Anonymous Project has been working on providing communities in Uganda with water wells. We rely on donations from the public to fund the cost of checking water quality and building water wells. Our people have built wells for an orphanage in Pallisa and are working on some wells for a community in Bududa. We have experienced first-hand the difficulty these people experience in retrieving water and want to help improve the quality of life in these communities.
Conclusion
We who live in developed countries and have water that runs directly to our homes rarely have to experience what it is like to be without access to water. For those in less privileged parts of the world, especially in rural areas, access to water is a daily problem. It not only takes up time and effort to obtain, but also presents people with a risk to their health.
If The Anonymous Project can provide communities with water, we can help improve their lives and help children work towards a better future. It is a small step towards breaking the cycle of poverty, but any big change requires that first small step.
References
1. Cassivi A, Waygood O, Chang Dorea C. 1869 – Quality of Life Impacts Related to the Time to Access Drinking Water in Malawi. J Transp Health. 2017;5:S15. doi:10.1016/j.jth.2017.05.294
2. Venkataramanan V, Geere JAL, Thomae B, Stoler J, Hunter PR, Young SL. In pursuit of ‘safe’ water: the burden of personal injury from water fetching in 21 low-income and middle-income countries. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5(10). doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003328
3. Skinner J. Where every drop counts: tackling rural Africa’s water crisis. Accessed July 18, 2026. https://www.iied.org/17055iied