Would you send your eight-year-old daughter to fetch water in an unsafe zone knowing she might get raped?

Many parents we deal with have no choice. Either they take this risk, or go without water. Many can't go themselves because of illness borne from drinking infested water. These are the very real choices that 2.6 million people, mostly women and children, have to make every day in search of clean water. They spend hours collecting small amounts of water - water that contains bacteria, germs and parasites.

In addition to dehydration, weight loss, malnutrition, and lowered immunity to disease, children with these waterborne infections also suffer intellectual, social, and developmental delays; making it even more difficult to escape the poverty trap.

Simple items like basins to catch and store rainwater would help, as would outhouses.

CCFC works to implement dependable water and sanitation facilities in homes, schools and shared community facilities which may include protected springs, bore wells, rainwater harvesting and other basic technologies that give direct access to this life sustaining commodity.

Once clean water arrives in a community, like Tamale, Ghana, where a much needed well was constructed, children and their parents are educated about hygiene, toilet construction, well maintenance and managing water resources efficiently. CCFC believes it's not only important that families have access to a nearby well, but also the skills needed to fix it when it is broken.

Close access to clean water frees up time and reduces the threat of illness. Mothers can take care of their families, pursue productive activities, like farming or running a small business, and children can go to school and play.

It has been said 'water is life'. In our mind, clean water is the key to a better life.