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Water

The process is simple. You cut off the top of an empty milk jug and then punch holes on two opposite sides, near the top. Next you thread a broomstick through the holes—that's your handle. You take a walk to the nearest stream, pond, creek, lake, or spring. You pick a spot that looks clean. You dunk your container until it's full. That's all you need. Now drink up.

Water, in parts of the world, is available in the next room: clean, drinkable, from a faucet. But on a global scale, water has reached a level of crisis. One in every six people is without access to safe drinking water, and billions of the world's poorest lack adequate sanitation, often collecting water from sites contaminated by runoff and sewage. As a result, still other statistics are staggering: water-borne diseases are the leading cause of death globally for children under the age of five, and half the patients in the world's hospitals are suffering from diseases related to water.

Our efforts with water are currently taking place in:

• Rwanda [Filtering water + preventing disease]
• June 2009 Rwanda Water Trip Report