For women in the Sahel, the first step out of poverty begins with clean water. We can help change that!

Have you taken part in that ALS Bucket Challenge? Nobody in the Sahel region would ever dream of doing such a wasteful thing. (Of course, donating to their cause is just fine!)

During the hotter part of the year, the average temperature in the Sahel region of West Africa is more than 110 degrees - with little to no shade to seek refuge in.

For women here, not having access to clean water means hours of painful and exhausting work. Many of them walk miles each day just to reach the 100-year-old hole in the ground where they collect water. And they make that trip four or five times. Not only is that water contaminated and dirt-colored, but it has to be pulled up by hand, one bucket at a time.

The homemade rope burns their hands; it causes bleeding and leaves callouses — even scars. And sometimes the rope breaks, causing women to fall into the wells, which can kill them.

But we can change all of that!

Together, we can bring solar powered pumps into communities and pipe water to tap stands right next to these women’s homes. We can bring time, energy and a better future to 100,000 people in Mali and Niger. With access to clean water, women can focus on working to raise money for their families, and children can be playful children like the ones we know, without having to work for hours just to retrieve water that they know will make them sick.

Please help me play a small part in changing the lives of women in the Sahel by donating to my campaign. Below, you will find a short video explaining the importance of this project. If you would like to learn about the Sahel crisis in more detail, please watch this 7 minute video, and see first-hand the intensity of every day live for women in these villages. http://www.charitywater.org/september/

100% of everything we raise will directly fund water projects. And when those projects are finished, charity: water will send us proof in pictures and GPS coordinates, so we can see the actual people and communities we impacted.