Water. When you hear the word, you probably imagine a cool, clear liquid. Many African children think water is milky or brown. March 22, World Water Day, reminds us that many people around the world don’t have access to the gift of fresh, clean water. In Africa alone, over 340 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Women and children walk miles every day for one jerry can of polluted water teeming with waterborne diseases. This doesn’t have to be. Africare has been working hand in hand with rural communities for over 38 years to build wells, install water pumps, irrigate crops and backyard gardens, create fish ponds, dig canals and develop every way possible to give access to the simple life-sustaining gift of fresh, clean water.

In observance of World Water Day, on March 26 Africare is co-sponsoring the Washington DC screening of a riveting documentary, “Running the Sahara,” which chronicles the 111 day trek of three runners across the Sahara Desert . The willpower, discipline and endurance of these three human beings exposes the remarkable strength and stamina of the Africans who meet the challenges of this unforgiving landscape every day, in particular their need for water.