Nakiru's Story
Life in Turkana, Kenya is relentless. Years of devastating drought have led to a land left broken. But for 11 year old Nakiru, this is all she knows as home.
As more rains fail and rivers dry up, Nakiru and her mother are forced to walk miles every day in the searing heat. The only water they find is dirty and contaminated by animal dung. Water that can only be collected by climbing deep into dry river bed pits which could collapse at any time, killing those trapped inside.
But you could help to protect the lives of children like Nakiru by getting water from the sun. Solar-powered water pumps bring clean, safe water from deep underground, meaning that children are no longer forced to drink water that could kill them, and instead they can look forward to a healthier, happier future.
How we get water from the sun!
We turn the heat of the sun into clean, safe water for the people of Turkana using our solar power technology:
• First a protected hole is drilled to reach a water source.
• A solar panel turns the energy from the sun into electricity that drives a motor - powering an underground water pump that draws up water for up to 12 hours a day.
• The fresh water is then stored in a tank that's connected to pumps and taps around the village, giving the local people easy access.
Who we are
At Practical Action we fight poverty across the developing world using practical, tangible and often innovative solutions - like the solar pump you can see above.
What's more, we make sure that all our projects are sustainable, use local materials and are run by local people. We work with people in poor communities to improve their quality of life today and for generations to come.
And finally, we currently have over 100 projects in over 40 developing countries. Last year we used technology to directly benefit over 900,000 poor women and men through our projects around the world. Together we aim to create sustainable solutions for today and tomorrow.
Where your money goes
For every £1 that you give, 83p goes directly into our operational programmes, 15p is used to generate future revenue so our projects can help even more people, and 2p goes towards statutory management and admin.
