M033 M033 | Page 22

17

This is my purpose... you may ask how do I know this? Simply because I was equipped for it... I am a walking talking water aid commercial.

When you see fundraising campaigns or water documentaries, they most of the time feature a girl or woman who is walking a very long distance in search of water. Often, in an arid area of a developing country and at the expense of her education or future. Coming from a developing country and lived there for the better part of my life, I can simply say, that girl is me. This is my story...

I have carried more than 120 litres of water on my back in a day. This constituted six trips (1.5 km to and from) laden with 20 litres of water in a yellow jerry can. When the drought would persist, this scenario would recur for several days in a week. On weekdays, I had to fetch water for two hours after school before settling down and doing my homework. Luckily, I had a mother who valued education. Two decades later, my Masters thesis, suprisingly was on Solar Water Pumps. This motivated me to do something about it-water crisis. If I don’t, who will?

Sadly, I have watched numerous international NGOs use children as photo opportunities to raise funds for lavish lifestyles while implementing unsustainable water solutions in developing countries, though some are credible.

More than 1 billion people in the world lack access to water which a basic human right and over eighty-four percent of them, live in rural areas without electricity. Since the principal economic activity of these people is subsistence agriculture, scarcity of water and electricity also affects families in key areas like health, education and food security. It has become evident that clear water and electricity supplies are interwined. The water-energy nexus has prompted me to come up with a sustainable water solution that can solve the water crisis once and for all. The core of Sustainable Water are unification, 100% transparency and design for sustainability.

Affordable solar-powered water pump is the most sustainable solution in areas without electricity.

And as the song goes “This is brave, this is proof. This is who I'm meant to be, this is me” Join me lets be brave together!

Sustainable Water

22

Community

I struggled with starting yet another non profit that addresses the water crisis. And the question I asked myself was why should I do it? Numerous water organizations abound but so do the water challenges. I realised it is not about starting something rather ending something-the water crisis.