This is the reality of life without water

Water, the most essential part of life, is a daily struggle for far too many people. Around the world 703 million people, almost one in ten of us, have to walk long distances, every day, just to fetch clean water.

Our charity partner Just a Drop is working to change the picture. Through locally-led water and sanitation projects, they are helping communities around the world secure the basics. At Naked Paper we’re proud to support their work.

Ann, a 32-year-old mother from Mwingi West, Kenya, knows the struggle for water all too well. Just a Drop’s 2023 campaign, The Walk to the Well, told Ann’s story in the form of the world's longest twitter thread, inviting readers to scroll along and follow her as she walked 9km on dusty roads, just to fetch enough water for her family. 

Here are nine daily challenges Ann faces on her walk:

1. A long and lonely road

Ann sets off before dawn, hoping to see a friend along the way. Sometimes she does, often it’s just her and the road. Many women in her village make the same journey, but each can only carry enough for her own family.

2. Blisters before breakfast

Walking for hours on rough, dusty ground takes its toll. Painful blisters form as she walks but there’s no time to rest and let them heal, she has to keep going.

3. The heat rises fast

By 6am the temperature is already climbing. Soon, it will reach 32 degrees. There’s precious little shade along the way. It will be even hotter on the walk home, and by then Ann will be carrying 20kg of water on her shoulders.

4. The risk of attack

This walk isn’t just exhausting, it’s dangerous. Women walking alone are vulnerable. Ann avoids looking directly at the strangers she encounters, and tries her best to pass unnoticed. Every walk comes with a gnawing dread: Will today be safe?

5. Climate anxiety at the sharp end

Ann has been making the walk since she was a child Over time, she has watched the land change. The rains come later, and when they do, they don’t last. Water sources that once flowed freely are now unreliable. The borehole she walks to has water for now. But for how much longer?

6. Waiting in line

Finally, Ann reaches the well. But the wait isn’t over. Sometimes, she stands in line for over half an hour. She chats with others, shares news - but the sun beats down, and every minute spent here is a minute away from home. Some days there are too many people, and by the time Ann gets to the well, it’s run dry. A wasted journey. 

7. A heavy burden

Ann walks back with a 20kg jerry can of water strapped to her back. The weight digs into her shoulders, the straps cut deep. One misstep, one slip, and she could spill the water - or worse, the container could fall on the ground and break. It’s happened before, and there’s only one option. Start again. 

8. Just enough, but never more

The amount of water Ann is able to carry home is just enough. Enough to cook, to drink, to wash faces. Enough for the animals and, if there’s any left over, the plants. But there’s never enough for her family to grow more food, raise more livestock, do anything more than keep up with their daily needs.

9. The day hasn’t even begun

By the time Ann gets home, it’s 7:45 a.m. The children need to get to school. The walk to the well was just securing the basics, now there’s cooking, cleaning, work to do. Tomorrow, she will walk again.

The end of the walk

The Walk to the Well campaign was a great success, featuring in Kenyan media and winning awards from the Charity Times and the Big Syn Film Festival. Naked Paper  pitched in by doubling campaign donations during the campaign window, helping to amplify the effect.

But the real strength of the campaign was in Ann and her story. Two years later, thanks to the support of Just a Drop, her village has access to water, ending the walk for Anne and her neighbours, allowing them to put roots down for commercial farming and a better future. We’re very happy to have played a part, and we know our customers are as well.

But for so many others, the walk continues. Across the world, hundreds of millions of people spend hours every day fetching water, carrying heavy burdens, and facing the dangers that come with the journey. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. By helping provide sustainable solutions to scarcity and drought, Just a Drop are making sure more women like Ann can rest in the knowledge that water, at last, is close at hand.

Want to find out more about this life-changing work?