FOLLOW Sabina’s journey for water
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
World Vision I 34834 Weyerhaeuser Way South I P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
“Do not be afraid … for I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.”—Isaiah 44:2-4 (NIV)
www.worldvision.org/WaterForLife The relentless task of water collection is about to end for Sabina. Please reach out to help other Kenyan families and communities like hers so that they, too, can put the long haul for water behind them. The gift of clean water will change their lives, improve their health, and give them opportunities for a better future.
THE LIFE SHE HAS BEEN THIRSTING FOR IS WITHIN REACH
FOLLOW Sabina’s journey for water 8:00 a.m.
SABINA’s day starts EARLY with a gRUELING trek for WATER... Like millions of other Kenyan women, Sabina’s days are defined by the relentless demand for water—a precious resource in this dry, dusty community. Twice a day Sabina makes the two-mile round trip over thorny, rocky ground to collect water from a riverbed. Sabina, her husband Jacob, their three children, and her nephew must get by on just 13 gallons a day for drinking, cooking, and bathing. This is all she can carry.
Sabina must walk over this chest-high gate on her way to the river, then lug 70 pounds of water across it on her return. She continued doing this throughout her pregnancies—even on the days she gave birth.
9:00 a.m.
IT TAKES A TERRIBLE TOLL ON HER BODY When Sabina arrives at the river, she has to scoop and filter the dirty water in order to fill her containers. Once they are filled, she loads them onto her back by lying on a thin rope attached to the largest jug, strapping it to her shoulders, and standing up. The straps dig into her skin and the back pain is excruciating, but she sings her way through it.
10:40 a.m.
IT KEEPS HER FROM BUILDING A BETTER LIFE
9:40 a.m.
CARRYING WATER ROBS HER OF HER POTENTIAL...
“I have seen people who go to school do well and get jobs, and I feel bad that I could not go to school,” says Sabina, who prays her children will have more opportunities than she had.
After her backbreaking journey, Sabina breastfeeds her baby, prepares the main meal, chops firewood, cooks over an open fire, washes clothes and her children’s little bodies, and sweeps the hut. She could start these jobs earlier in the day, spend time with her family, or even rest a while if she did not have to walk so far for water—and make the trip to the river twice each day. The tragic irony is that the water Sabina works so hard to collect is dirty “We know we should [boil the water] but and unsafe to drink. Her children we don’t,” Sabina says. “With all the work are often sick. to do, there is no time to boil it, so we just
Once she has strapped the full water containers onto her back, Sabina begins the long journey home carrying 70 pounds of water. Burdened by the quest for water for most of her life, she has been robbed of her time and potential. As a child, she could not go to school. As an adult, there is no reprieve from this exhaustive task. And Sabina will walk back to the river again in the afternoon to get more water. She has no time for the things she would like to do, like plant a garden.
ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER IS POSSIBLE in sabina’s community, water pipes have been laid, a water management board is being trained, and water testing is under way. For the first time ever, 68,000 people will not have to walk miles for clean water. One of those people is Sabina. YOU CAN HELP thirsty families in other World Vision communities. Your support can make all the difference as we work to transform more lives with water, sanitation, and hygiene projects.
drink it the way it is.”
YOUR HELP CAN CHANGE LIVES With your support, World Vision can work alongside communities like Sabina’s to:
BUILD
more water pipelines and water points close to homes, and drill new wells
PROVIDE
access to safe sanitation and protect water sources by building latrines for families and schools
EDUCATE
children and families about essential hygiene practices to prevent disease
“I REALIZED I COULDN’T TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WALK IN SABINA’S SHOES UNLESS I DID IT MYSELF.”
WALKING
– World Vision Communications Manager Kari Costanza
watch sabina’s story ON DVD In this incredible journey of awakening, World Vision’s Kari Costanza puts herself in Sabina’s place, hiking a mile along unforgiving ground to a dirty river—and shouldering a backbreaking 70 pounds of water on her return.
www.worldvision.org/WaterForLife
February 2011 Running time: 16:19
IN SABINA’S SHOES
www.worldvision.org/WaterForLife
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. ©2011 World Vision, Inc. All rights reserved.
THE LIFE SHE HAS BEEN THIRSTING FOR IS WITHIN REACH The relentless task of water collection is about to end for Sabina. Please reach out to help other Kenyan families and communities like hers so that they, too, can put the long haul for water behind them. The gift of clean water will change their lives, improve their health, and give them opportunities for a better future. “Do not be afraid … for I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.”—Isaiah 44:2-4 (NIV)
www.worldvision.org/WaterForLife World Vision I 34834 Weyerhaeuser Way South I P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063-9716 World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.