In the rural community of Kambu, Kenya, 6-year-old Celestine once spent hours each day walking with her Grandma Anne to collect water. Instead of playing with her friends, Celestine carried a five-liter jug on her back, making a two-mile round trip to fetch water from the Kambu River.

“I carry it on my back. I get very tired,” she said.

Sometimes during the dry season, they had to dig in the riverbed and wait for water to rise through the sand. The water in the Kambu River is dirty and unsafe, and animals often tread through it. “The kids get worms from the contaminated water,” Grandma Anne said. 

The contaminated water often made Celestine sick. She missed school, couldn’t play with her friends, and suffered from water-related illness. She is not alone in this struggle. Around the world, water-related illnesses cause children to miss a collective 443 million school days each year.

But in the summer of 2024, everything changed for Celestine and Grandma Anne. With critical support from FedEx, Water Mission completed its largest safe water project in Kenya, serving 9,000 people, including a hospital and seven schools, one of which is Celestine’s. 

The project is also the first to use an elevated steel tank and underground collection tank. With an Erosion Chlorinator to treat the water, the Kambu project services the community with safe water so that girls like Celestine no longer have to walk for water or become sick from it. These materials used to construct and implement the project were delivered to Water Mission’s Kenya country program via FedEx. 

Thanks to this transformational project, Celestine no longer must walk for water or worry about getting sick. "After school, I like playing [hide-and-seek] with my friends,” she says.

With reliable and convenient access to safe water, she now has time for school and play.

Thanks to Water Mission and FedEx’s commitment to providing access to safe water, children like Celestine are free to enjoy their childhood, pursue education, and build toward the future. 

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

FedEx

FedEx

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. With annual revenue of $88 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions utilizing its flexible, efficient, and intelligent global network. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 500,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards, and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about. 

More from FedEx