Women empowerment might mean different things to different people.
As a woman who experiences and is blessed with opportunities of furthering education, making choices about my family and home, and having a stable job – it’s easy to feel empowered. But such opportunities aren’t available for millions of women around the world who lack access to basic resources such as clean water and sanitation.
Through our work at Global Ehsan Relief, we have seen how helping women in poverty to get an affordable, sustainable access to clean water is critical to their empowerment. Because when they have quality access to clean water, they are able to change poverty to possibilities.
Fom Cambodia, to Sri Lanka, to the Middle East – millions of women are responsible for finding water that is crucial for their family to survive. The burden and struggle of finding clean water weighs heavily on their shoulders – up to the point where it restricts them from pursuing an education or working to earn a living.
According to Water.org, in this day and age, women and girls around the world spend a collective 200 millions hours on foot, in pursuit of clean water. Hours that are spent not in school, work or at home.
One example is Zawiyah from Takeo Province, Cambodia. Before getting access to two clean water sources in their community, Zawiyah and her neighbours spent many hours in a day just collecting water from the nearest source of water – a pond that is still quite a distance away.
“Before we had the community water well, we were drawing water from beyond the pond. It took nearly the whole morning, sometimes until the afternoon. And it was so tiring for us that we were unable to do anything else. The water we fetch is not enough for our daily use,” Zawiyah shared.
“Alhamdulillah with the installation of the community water well in our village, it’s so convenient and we get more rest. Hence we can prepare for our other chores and duties that we must complete.”
Zawiyah, Community Water Well beneficiary
With more time for other responsibilities, women like Zawiyah are not burdened by the responsibility of fetching clean water for their family. Women like Zawiyah are able to find time to improve their lives and their families’ lives.
Through our work on the ground, our team has personally seen how improved access to clean water has empowering effects on women and young girls in many different aspects of their lives.
When they are empowered with access to clean water, women have the time and well-being to make the right and important choices for their own lives such as for their health, security and how they make use of their time.
We’ve seen the impact personally, and we urge you to continue lending your support to impact more underprivileged people around the world. To date, you’ve helped us build hundreds of Community Water Wells in Cambodia. We invite you to join us in empowering more women in need of clean water. Contribute to our Care for Clean Water campaigns today to help change lives for the better.