Updates
Each spring, freshman students at Austin High School’s Academy of Global Studies participate in the Gazelle Foundation’s Walk For The Water program. These students learn about the global water crisis, water quality issues, and the Gazelle Foundation’s work to bring clean water to those who need it most. As part of the program’s fundraiser, they participate in a simulation to collect and carry water a distance comparable to someone who lives in rural Burundi.
Take a look at the 2019 Impact Report. Since 2006, the Gazelle Foundation has invested $2.1 million to transform lives in Burundi. The consistent financial support of the Gazelle Foundation community is what enables us to continue impacting thousands of lives each year through our clean water systems.
In honor of the new year and new decade, we want to share 20 facts about Burundi and the impact of clean water.
Waterborne diseases are the leading cause of death in Burundi.
Burundi has the 12th highest child mortality rate in the world.
The availability of clean water taps creates shorter, safer walking distances, especially for women and children.
Our systems reduce the average distance to clean water by nearly 4 miles (round trip, per day).
In 2010, Levis Bizindavyi, head of the health care center in the community of Rumuvu, Burundi, made a startling discovery. “Of about 100 people treated,” he said, “80 cases were caused by dirty water.” In the face of these sobering statistics, the Gazelle Foundation set to work installing clean water systems in these communities. Clean water creates a foundation for good health, which has far-reaching consequences.
Healthy children spend more time attending school, which improves their life-long earning potential.
In 2009, the St. Andrew’s school community embarked on a special project to give the gift of clean water to those who need it most. Inspired in part by their track coach, Gilbert Tuhabonye, St. Andrews students, and their families raised money for a Gazelle Foundation water system.
Ten years on, the project still provides clean water to this thriving community of 970 people and has altered the trajectory of their lives. Read more about the clean water legacy that has radically changed life for the better every single day for this community.
in 2018, the Gazelle Foundation completed a clean-water project near Greta’s home. This project provides clean water to 1, 200 of Greta’s classmates and their families. With easily accessible, clean water nearby, Greta and her classmates no longer have to make the trek to collect water for their families. Less time needed to gather water meant more time available for attending school.
Not far from Rumeza, at Kagogabo Primary and Secondary schools, students also benefited from the implementation of a Gazelle Foundation clean water system. Prior to 2013, the students at the school literally had to climb down and back up a mountainside to a river to access water.
On Monday, October 21, 2019, Gilbert Tuhabonye and a large group of people filled 30-50lbs water jugs and walked from Austin’s Lady Bird Lake to the Texas State Capitol in a profound remembrance of tragic events that occurred twenty-six years ago, and to celebrate the strength in resilience, forgiveness, and gratitude.
