Water

When we traveled to India in June, we saw firsthand the devastation of the draught and water shortage. During the summer months, this part of southern India goes through dry periods, but this is the worst bout of acute water shortage in years and years.

Lakes and riverbeds are now dry, cracked patches of earth. The places where people used to bathe, wash their clothes, and take their livestock to drink water is now barren except for the dead fish scattered about. Taps have run dry. Businesses are asking workers to stay home. Hundreds of people have died.

(Photo from NPR)

The job of gathering water all over the world falls on women and girls. Girls are staying home from school to walk to different streams to see if they can find water to take home. Women are walking to different areas of the city where they have heard there MIGHT be water at a well pump. Single mothers are having to get their tiny children out of bed in the middle of the night to go see if they can pump water at the well when it is not as busy. Because of this - women and girls are facing impossible, and dangerous, situations. Either they not seek out water and put their families in danger of not having enough to drink and wash, or they travel to different areas of the city - and sometimes at night - to try to find water. The problem with going at night to look for water is that it is culturally believed that women and girls should not be out at night - and if they are attacked while out at night, it is their own fault.

It all comes down to the fact that people are literally dying of thirst - and our sisters around the world are having to put themselves and their children in danger to try and save their families.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of these statistics and stories, but when we saw this firsthand - we knew that doing nothing was no longer an option.

We asked what we could do to help - and that’s where YOU came in. Because of YOU, our incredible SheHopes family, we were able to pay for a FIVE WATER TRUCKS to be delivered periodically until the draught ends! Each water truck contains 5,000 liters of water and will help an entire neighborhood.

Because of the water shortage, it’s hard to even find water trucks to be delivered, but our amazing team in Southern India has done a great job of having two trucks delivered so far - and scheduling out the rest. We received these photos of the water delivery from them - and they said that the women were so grateful! You are literally changing and saving lives!

We will be sure to keep you updated on the water crisis in Tamil Nadu, India - and we can all hope for relief very soon! Thank you for everything that you do to help our sisters here at home and around the world. Sometimes HOPE looks like self-defense, sometimes HOPE looks like job training or education, and sometimes it looks like WATER.

You can help our sisters around the world become the heroes of their own stories by donating HERE. We couldn’t do this without you. Nandri (thank you) for coming on this journey with us.

Here’s to HOPE!