Scientists invented a tool that's helping working moms in Ghana get their lives back.
When a working parent gets sick, their whole operation comes to a screeching halt.
This is nowhere more true than in the Saboba region of Ghana, where the mothers are often the breadwinners.
This community is driven primarily by women — nurses, seamstresses, and others who shoulder the burden of caring for their families and for the community as a whole. With all these responsibilities, it's imperative they stay healthy enough to run the show. But there's a big problem: They don't have clean water, and without it, sickness is inevitable.
Like most mothers, these women can't afford sick days, so they're spreading a solution for clean water to keep their families and communities healthy.
Posted by Upworthy on Monday, March 20, 2017
There are some common problems faced by working mothers everywhere, but for some moms, even the basics are a struggle.
The women of Saboba are hardworking, accomplished career women and mothers, like many women in the United States. They lead successful, fulfilling lives. But one important thing they struggle with is getting clean water.
Ghana has made much progress providing access to clean water, yet more than 3 million people still struggle to find clean water every day.
Photos via P&G.
Many collect their drinking water directly from rivers and streams. This water contains bacteria that can make people sick for weeks at a time — but without an alternative water source, it's a risk they have to take.
Getting clean water to these communities is complicated and costly, but there's now a technology that can help.
Until permanent sources of clean water can be put in place, one way to get clean water to people in need is the P&G Purifier of Water packets, shown in the video above. They make it possible to turn river water into clean, drinkable water.
The packets are lightweight and easy to ship, so it’s relatively easy to distribute them via organizations that are already working in communities in Africa.
In Ghana, women like Fusenia and Joana have taken on a new task bringing purification packets to the rest of the community.
They're already workers and mothers, and now they're clean water activists too. Even within the hectic pace of their daily lives, they find time to bring clean water knowledge and resources to others as well.
Every working parent can empathize with what these women go through just to stay on their feet. We all understand how difficult it is to balance life's many demands already, and that's before having to worry about finding clean water.
While Fusenia and Joana have to bring clean water to their communities themselves, it's easy for us to help communities like theirs.You can donate online or even order packets of your own and teach others why it's so important to help these people get clean water.
It's not just about getting them healthy water to drink. It's about helping them get back to doing what they do best: being loving, dedicated working moms.