Water equals survival in Ethiopia and Kenya. Strife is growing due to lack of water. While 70% of the earth is comprised of water, less than 5% of water is fit for human consumption. The World Health Organization states that 1.1 billion people in the world struggle to access adequate water. Villagers in East Africa travel hours to obtain water; the trek is arduous and the water is difficult to transport home. Water is becoming as precious and costly a commodity as oil. Will wars arise over water resources?

Refugee numbers are increasing in Kenya and Ethiopia as lakes dry up and disappear and pastoralists flee areas where their livestock cannot survive due to lack of water. The bulk of the burden of obtaining water falls on women and children. Children have bruised shoulders due to hauling water bottles on them. Women walk many hours to obtain small amounts of water. Humans are spending vast portions of their day trying to obtain water to ensure basic survival. Formerly lush lakes that supplied water are now dusty ravines.
Wells that were created hundreds of years ago are now drying up and disappearing.

Many people in East Africa live on less than $1 per day. Resources to improve quality of life are marginal at best. Drought is now increasing due to global warming; rainfall levels are also decreasing as weather patterns become more erratic. East Africa faces the crisis of water shortage; more industrialized nations that are causing global warming are bringing despair to East Africa, where life is already a daily struggle. Warmer temperatures and lower rainfall amounts mean water resources for wildlife and humans are disappearing. Some species of wildlife are rapidly becoming extinct.

As one looks at the huge SUVs jamming the highways in too many countries the other side of that sordid sight is the image of an emaciated woman in Africa lugging water back on a long daily trek in an attempt to keep her children alive. As pollution levels grow throughout the world, the global climate changes, and right now Africa is feeling the impact of global warming in a dramatic and frightening wave of drought and famine. Population increases also impact the water shortage.

In Ethiopia the average life expectancy is now only 47.8 years. According to the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), in East Africa, 70% of hospital visits are due to consumption of contaminated water. The water crisis is resulting in widespread death for humans

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