Can you imagine life without a water tap at home? What if the nearest water source was two miles away and you had no access to a car, bicycle or any public transportation? These are not the everyday problems we think about during our morning shower, but women and children all over the world are commonly spending five or more hours each day collecting and carrying water, firewood, and other heavy necessities on their heads. It’s unsafe, unhealthy, and incredibly time consuming. For a vivid illustration of this reality, see this excerpt from charity: water’s video entitled “Water Changes Everything”:
In East Africa, farmers and villagers head-carry because affordable handcarts or wheelbarrows are not available to them. But a simple tool like a cart can save a family thousands of hours a year, allowing children to return to school and adults to work on income-generating opportunities. Fortunately, there is an organization working to make this essential tool available at a realistic and affordable price; their name is Anza and they are planning to sell their revolutionary handcart in East Africa at a radically low cost to villagers all over the region. Below, you can see the “Anza Cart” (left), and how it compares to current alternatives:
The Anza Cart is a transformative product that can improve the livelihoods of farmers, empower women, and keep children in school. Thus, an investment in the Anza Cart project is exceptionally effective in terms of social impact and also extremely efficient in a practical economic sense: thanks to thorough research and careful design, the Anza cart requires only a very small subsidy from donors. Anza has conducted years of field-based research that indicate that every $10 invested in Anza yields an average of $1320 in returns for its owner. Below, you can see the projected impacts of 1850 Anza Carts:
Anza has recently sent its first shipment of over 1000 carts to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is working to send another as soon as possible. A $10 donation fully subsidizes one cart and helps a family of five lift themselves out of poverty.
You can be a part of this initiative by donating an amount that you are comfortable with at www.anzacart.org!
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