All over the world women carry the burden of gathering water. 1,000,000,000 women have to walk for water. (that’s billion with a ‘B’). In Uganda the water they gather isn’t even clean. 

The only water they can find is surface water from ponds, streams and swamps. The water is often contaminated with bacteria that cause thyroid and cholera.

The time it takes for them to gather water means that girls don’t get to go to school. Mother’s aren’t home in time to make breakfast for their husbands, which often results in domestic disputes and even domestic violence. 

And there are other dangers that lurk along the way. Men also gather at the well in hopes of luring girls away from school. Some are less subtle. 1 in 4 women in Uganda report that they have experienced sexual assault, and the chances of that happening increase the further they have to walk for water.