In the fall of 2017, to stay true to our mission, Prairie High School Key club happily accepted the challenge in regards to The Thirst Project from a Key Club International Partner. The challenge was to raise $12,000 to fund a well to bring clean drinking water to a village in Swaziland, Africa.
After many fundraisers, donation requests, and a gala, we reached our goal in the spring of 2019. Not too bad for a volunteer group – we typically are not a fundraising group. As a result, The PHS Key Club well was built at Sikayne School in Manzini, Swaziland. How cool, a high school helping another school! Success was due to the hardworking and passionate PHS Key Club members on top of the support of College Community School District, Prairie High School, Cedar Rapids Kiwanis Club, and local businesses and community members. |
By providing a community with safe drinking water, disease rates can drop by up to 88% virtually overnight! Child mortality rates can drop up to 90%- overnight! Clean water also plays an incredibly critical role in effectively treating and managing HIV/AIDS in rural communities. Worldwide, agriculture accounts for 70% of all water consumption. Crops and livestock must have water to grow. When a community has a close, safe water source, locally-grown food provides for a sustainable food source. Clean water is essential!
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Women and children spend on average six to eight hours each day walking to fetch water. The average distance that women and children in developing communities walk to fetch water is 3.75 miles. The time children spend collecting water keeps them from going to school and getting an education and the time women spend on collecting water keeps them from working to help support their families.
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