The Thirst Project has always played a big role in the Ohio District’s quest to be a part of helping end the global water crisis in Swaziland.
Over 600 million people go each day without having access to safe, clean water. Waterborne diseases kill more children every single year than AIDS, Malaria, and all world violence combined. By providing a community with safe drinking water, disease rates can drop by up to 88% and Child mortality rates can drop up to 90%- overnight!
Swaziland has the single-highest-density population of HIV/AIDS in the world. For a person with HIV/AIDS, even with access to medical treatment or medications, drinking dirty water from contaminated sources, diseases in the water will actually kill one faster than AIDS itself.
Women and children spend on average 6 to 8 hours each day walking an average distance of 3.75 miles to fetch water. This time could be used to provide children with an education, or allow women to get jobs and support their families financially.