Bring Clean Water Wells to 6 Villages in India

BridgIT Water Foundation continues to raise funds for clean, safe water wells in Andhra Pradesh, India.  This project is so important to rural villagers who must walk for kilometers to find water for their domestic use.  It is the women and children that perform this chore, taking huge amounts of time and energy that could be better spent working to raise family incomes or in school to give hope for the future.  Current water sources include often contaminated surface water that is often shared with animals, which raises the risk of diseases like cholera and dysentery.  Water is sometimes collected from agricultural runoff which is obviously not ideal when farmers use chemical fertilizers.  Sometimes water is collected from agricultural wells, which is actually a better source.  In all cases, women must lug these heavy loads back to the village for cooking and other domestic uses.

It is estimated that approximately 40 million of the 55 million people living in Andhra Pradesh state do not have access to well water.  BridgIT Water Foundation considers clean, safe water to be a basic human right, so BridgIT will continue to raise funds in this GlobalGiving crowdfunding campaign so it can build more water wells in rural Andhra Pradesh villages.  These wells are very cost-effective, at less than US$2/person capital cost.  But we need to expand our reach to new contributors.  As supporters of BridgIT, we consider you to be part of our team, and we encourage you to provide your suggestions on ways to raise funds for more AP wells.  Please feel free to contact us.

Links:

• BridgIT website
• Little Ripples turns wine into water. Check Wendy's video below.

The BridgIT Water Foundation continues to raise funds through its Andhra Pradesh Water Project campaign on Global Giving.  Thank you to our supporters who are responsible for providing fresh and clean water to rural people in the eastern part of India.

The water wells literally change the lives of these rural villagers.  Whereas westerners are used to turning multiple taps in their homes to get drinking water on demand, for so many people around the world this is just not the case.  Women and children, typically, walk for miles daily to collect contaminated surface water.  This takes hours that could be used productively to help families develop economically, and help children advance their educations.  Plus the surface water is often dirty and full of waterborne pathogens, which make the people sick.  Clearly these people need a better solution.

Wells in the villages or at schools provide a step in the right direction because they eliminate the time consuming water collection treks.  People still need to collect water from the wells, but the time involved is cut to a fraction.  Women can spend this time starting or expanding entrepreneurial businesses, and children can spend more time in school.  Improved health also leads to opportunities for economic advancement.  BridgIT's water wells address Sustainable Development Goals #6, to improve Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, and #1, to Reduce Poverty.

The beauty of these wells is that they are extremely cost-effective.  For a capital cost of less than US$2,000, one well can provide water for up to 1,500 people.  Value for money is one of BridgIT's goals, and it is rare to find economic development projects that provide this level of "bang for the buck."

The success of this fundraiser depends on the participation of supporters.  Please tell your friends, family, and social networks about this work.  Please ask them to consider contributing funds, and also to help publicize this effort by talking about it with their friends, family, and making posts on social networking sites.  Thank you.

The shortcut url for this fundraiser is:  goto.gg/30669

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Testimonial from Mrs. Rangamma, 35 years 

Links:

• BridgIT Water Foundation Website