Challenging Global Water Enslavement
Women and children globally spend over 200 million hours every day collecting water.
We create innovative projects to ensure clean water access for all, while delivering real change that will last lifetimes.
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Percentage of people in sub-Saharan Africa collect water from community taps, rivers, or ponds each day
The average distance to reach a water source. This trip is often done multiple times a day
The number of children in sub-Saharan Africa who miss school due to water collection responsibilities
Problem
The Water Burden
- Support people in extreme need
- Largest global crowdfunding community
- Make the world a better place
- Share your love for community
In many parts of the developing world, communities don’t have access to piped water and rely on unsafe and inefficient methods of water collection, leading to a host of social and health issues.
Women and children bear the brunt of these challenges, spending many hours each day collecting water, which prevents them from accessing education, work, and personal development.
Water insecurity disrupts education. Girls are 2.5 times more likely to drop out of school in water-scarce areas.
Millions of children – especially girls – miss school due to the burden of water collection or inadequate hygiene facilities.
Some Context
Women and children globally spend over 200 million hours every day collecting water
If you walked that long, your journey would start in the Stone Age and end in 2016, or, at the average walking speed, you would circle the earth 24,957 times, or walk to the moon and back 1,300 times!
households without a direct watersupply rely on women and children to collect water
the average distance walked to reach water by Women and children, often multiple times a day
Exposing women and children to safety concerns, with the risk of violence during the journey. This exacerbates inequality and poverty in these communities.
Global breakdown
Projects
The Unity Water Foundation develops projects to address water scarcity and provide women, children and communities opportunities to learn, grow and develop.
This is done in several ways
Water Access Solutions
Provide comprehensive community water solutions from the source to filtration, storage and safe water portage with Hippo Rollers.
Innovation
Projects to develop specific products, such as water filtration and storage systems, from sustainable materials that can be implemented in communities.
Water and Sanitation
Provide eco-friendly sanitation solutions alongside water access initiatives to enhance hygiene and community health.
Targeted Aid Kits
Kits distributed with water solutions address specific needs identified within a community.
Rolling with Hope
Deploying Hippo Rollers to allow people to transport water safely and more efficiently.
Crisis Response
Projects to bridge the gap in support between the initial crisis response deployments and community recovery.
Technology
Geospatial projects that develop dynamic data-driven tools to showcase and monitor impact, provide transparency, engage communities, and integrate geospatial intelligence to build climate resilience and environmental awareness.
Our Solution
Why Water Portage?
By improving water portage, we improve the lives of women and children by providing:
More Time
to focus on education, family, work, and subsistence farming
Opportunity
for people to empower, educate, and develop themselves
Dignity Restored
through improved health, and hygiene. Reduces poverty and the risk of violence.
Solution
Education & Advocacy
Through participation in global water and humanitarian events, the Unity Water Foundation advocates for water causes, shares innovation, and develops partnerships.
- World Water Forum.
- Rotary International Conventions.
- Health & Humanitarian Logistics Conference.
- Humanitarian Networks & Partnerships Weeks.
There, we advocate for water causes, share innovation, and develop partnerships. THE HIPPO HUB (www.hipporollerusa.org) The Hippo Hub is a central learning and impact hub that offers:
- Educational tools and materials for knowledge building.
- Transparent reporting to showcase the measurable impacts of projects.
- Uses ArcGIS StoryMaps to provide publicly accessible project updates.
Meet the Team
Unity Water Team
Leadership
Advisory Team
Logistics
Bongani Mazeka (South Africa)
ArcGIS Storymap Team
Edmond Chen (Hong Kong & USA)
Julie Nguyen (USA)
Benjamin Mutisya (Kenya)
Harry Gonzales (USA)
Jose Rodriguez (USA)
Meet Hope
Hope the Hippo
Hope the Hippo, a character created by Sandra Magsamen, is engaging children in meaningful conversations about water.
Sandra Magsamen has touched millions of people, one heart at a time. Her products have been warmly embraced for over 35 years.
Sandra is an award-winning author of children’s books. Her children’s books consistently rank as best-sellers at Barnes & Noble, Target, Amazon and Walmart and are additionally sold nationally at wholesale clubs, specialty markets, independent booksellers and online retailers. The USA Today bestselling author of “Welcome Little One” continues to create books that connect children and caregivers heart to heart.
Sandra’s work with publishers Scholastic and Sourcebooks have made her a household name by publishing some of her most cherished titles like, “Welcome Little One”, “I Love You Honey Bunny” and “You!”
The children’s books that Sandra creates weave together her experience as an art therapist and as a mom with her unique style of poetry and painting. Each story shares messages of belonging, knowing that when a child feels they belong, they feel safe, loved and can grow to be all they can be. Sandra’s goal is to create books that connect a child to the reader in a meaningful and loving way.
