We were fortunate to meet twelve-year-old Humu from the Northern Ghana village of Zogu, where we recently drilled a new water well in partnership with Healing Hands International (HHI) and Rural Water and Development Program (RWDP).

Behind Humu, in this picture above, is the pond that she formerly shared with her friends. Also, livestock commonly entered the pond to drink while water was being collected – which made the water unsafe to drink due to water-borne intestinal parasites and bacteria. But now she smiles because she has safe water to drink and her mother has safe water for cooking and washing. She no longer has to endure the indignity of sharing drinking water with cattle and goats.

Humu said, “there was an old well in my village that was no longer working. My family and I had no choice but to drink from the pond with cows and goats.” It is difficult to imagine a life where one has no choice but to drink dirty water every day—which becomes normal. But now Humu has a new normal of dignity.

Now that the community of Zogu has clean water, Humu and her family will be able to wash and drink with dignity. But there are still thousands of communities that do not have this basic human right. A lack of safe, clean drinking water is still the largest crisis facing people around our world today. Water is the foundational building block, and the first step, for any community in the developing world to begin moving toward self sufficiency and stability.

Together with our partners like HHI, RWDP, and supporters, we are working on solutions. We work in some of the hardest-to-reach places in Ghana to build infrastructure and help change attitudes about clean water. We work with local partners on the ground to make sure services can be maintained long after we’ve left these communities.

Humu’s village—Zogu— is just one of the many villages we’ve reached with clean water, but we won’t stop until everyone has the same opportunity.