A daily choice: Clean water or school?
Something as simple as access to safe water—which we often take for granted—can keep children from going to school. Not getting an education impacts a child’s entire life, often keeping him or her caught in the ongoing cycle of poverty.
Something as simple as access to safe water—which we often take for granted—can keep children from going to school. Not getting an education impacts a child’s entire life, often keeping him or her caught in a cycle of poverty.
A girl in Niger carries a jug of water to her home in the region of Maradi. ©UNICEF/NYHQ2007-2656/Giacomo Pirozzi
Niger is just one of the many countries where access to clean drinking water is extremely limited. When water is scarce it is more often than not up to children to fetch it from faraway sources. This can take hours and keep children from attending school. This New York Times feature tells the story of the challenges families face to access something as basic and essential as clean drinking water. UNICEF understands the extent to which access to clean and safe drinking water can impact a child’s life—from getting an education to staying healthy to keeping safe from sexual exploitation. Our Water and Sanitation programs help build wells, install water pumps, improve sanitation, distribute water purification tablets and more. If you’d like to support UNICEF’s clean water programs, consider getting involved in the annual UNICEF Tap Project campaign or making an online donation.
