Our story began in 2015 in Ziguinchor, Senegal. When visiting the family of a friend I asked where they get their water from. The answer I received was shocking.
There is a community well that serves the neighbourhood, it is an open well and the water is contaminated. We know that the water is bad and makes us sick so we add bleach before drinking it, especially before giving it to the children.
In that very moment that Fountain of Life was born. Our mission is to bring sustainable safe drinking water, improved hygiene and sanitation to those who have access to only unimproved facilities through the use and application of appropriate technologies and education.
THE PROBLEM
Globally, an estimated 2,000 children under the age of five die every day from diarrheal diseases, and of these deaths 1,800 are linked to water, sanitation and hygiene. For every child that dies, countless others suffer from poor health and lost educational opportunities leading to poverty in adulthood.
Diarrhea is caused mainly by the ingestion of pathogens, especially in unsafe drinking water, in contaminated food or from unclean hands. The WHO estimates that 88% of diarrheal cases can be prevented by increasing the availability of safe water and improving sanitation and hygiene practices.
WHAT IS ‘SAFE WATER’ ?
Put simply ‘Safe water’ is a ‘safely managed drinking water service’: water that is accessible on the premises, available when needed, and free from contamination.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, water is your human right. Access to water underpins public health and is therefore critical to sustainable development and a stable and prosperous world. We cannot move forward as a global society while so many people are living without safe water.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
In 2010, the UN recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.”
The human right to water entitles everyone, without discrimination, to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use; which includes water for drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene.
All photography provided by Mark Provis