Impact Stories

Meet Our Walk for Water Story for 2025—Celestine!
In the remote community of Kambu, Kenya, a little girl named Celestine walks two miles every day with a five-liter jug on her back. While some children can choose to have fun after their school day is over, Celestine cannot. 

She walks daily to collect water for her family, spending hours gathering a resource we often take for granted. 

Celestine is six years old and lives with her Grandma Anne. Because of the immense poverty in Kambu, Celestine’s mother is seeking work in another town with the hopes of sending money back to her family. Like most little girls, Celestine desires to spend her time in school and with her friends. 

“My favorite thing in school is reading,” Celestine said. “After school, I like playing with my friends. My favorite thing to play is hide and seek, and the best hiding spot is at the baobab tree.” 

Because Celestine spends so much time walking for water, she often has little time to play with her friends and simply enjoy her childhood.

Celestine walks one and a half miles home from school. But instead of getting to play with her friends after school, she has to trek another mile, this time with her grandmother by her side. 

“We get water from the Kambu River during the rainy season,” explained Celestine’s Grandma Anne. “It is 20 minutes to walk each way.” 

Women like Anne and girls like Celestine collectively spend 200 million hours per day walking for water. During the dry season in Kambu, gathering water takes longer than usual. Celestine and Anne must dig in the dry riverbed because there is so little water. 

“When you go to the riverbed, you must scoop in the sand and wait for the water to come up,” said Grandma Anne. “In total, it can take one to two hours.” 

A five-liter jug of water is heavy for a little girl. On the return journey, Celestine’s jerrycan weighs approximately 11 pounds, filled to the brim so she doesn’t have to repeat her walk. 

“I carry it on my back. I get very tired,” Celestine said. 

“Celestine gets very tired when she goes to collect water. She can’t do anything else when she gets home because she’s so tired,” Anne echoed. 

Not only does Celestine walk a long distance for her water, but she also gets sick from consuming it. These illnesses prevent her from attending school regularly and playing with her friends.  

“The kids get worms from the contaminated water. It is a great problem,” Grandma Anne said. “The last time Celestine was sick was…two months ago. She had stomach problems, and now you can see scabs on her scalp from the parasites.” 

Celestine is only one of many children in Kambu who contract deadly illnesses from consuming Kambu River water. Children worldwide miss 443 million school days every year due to water-related illnesses. 

In the summer of 2024, Water Mission completed a safe water project in the community of Kambu. This project is the largest in Kenya thus far, serving 9,000 people, including a hospital and seven schools, one of which is Celestine’s.  

The project is also the first to use an elevated steel tank and underground collection tank. With an erosion chlorinator to treat the water, the Kambu project will service the community with safe water so that girls like Celestine no longer have to walk for water or become sick from it. 

Gladys
Gladys lives in Golomoti, Malawi, and water options are limited. This leaves her with a choice. If she walks to the nearest borehole and stands in lengthy lines to collect untreated water, it takes a long time, and she often misses school. If she collects from the nearby contaminated river, which is also used for bathing and washing diapers, she and her family are at a higher risk of water-related illness. 

With water stations placed throughout the community, Gladys and the other children of Golomoti will have safe water close to home. This will bring health and hope, as well as provide more time for school and economic opportunities. “When we have the water project, I will have enough time to study. That means I will be able to perform well in class.”

 

Chiku
Chiku is a shy eight-year-old living in Chikola, Tanzania, and one of 2 billion people without access to safe water. The hours Chiku spends walking to collect water for her family take time away from her homework. Then, because the water is contaminated, she is often too sick to attend school.  

This troubles Chiku, who dreams of being a teacher someday. Thankfully, because of friends like you, Chiku will soon have safe water close to home and be healthy enough to get an education.  
 

“It will be very beneficial for my daughter and other children,” says Chiku’s mother. “I’m seeing a future of excellence as a result of the availability of safe water.”  
 

 

Watch the video to learn more about Chiku's story.
 

Lucy 
Lucy, a mother and long-time resident of Morpus, Kenya. She was home cooking for her children while her son was deep in the hole collecting water for the family. Suddenly, Lucy heard cries and screams from the riverbed. When she rushed to investigate, Lucy found that the hole had collapsed, tragically burying her son. 

Lucy says that with safe water in the community, "Life has changed completely." She is grateful that safe water will mean a brighter, safer future for her grandchildren. 

"Now, the children go to school and can get water there," she said. "We are very thankful."
 

Watch Lucy's full story.