Films

Film SynopsisIn Kenya, water insecurity is a life-threatening reality as the country's population is expected to increase from 40 million to 60 million over the next twenty years. Most of the country still depends on wood and charcoal for household energy and forest cover is rapidly disappearing. At the same time, the climate is changing: rainfall is decreasing, river levels are low and water contamination is on the rise. In the fierce competition for dwindling resources, women and girls are the most vulnerable as the responsibility to find water and fuel for their families, falls upon them.

At dawn, nine-year-old Anzelma walks for miles in search of firewood. Many in her village have died from drinking dirty water and firewood is a valuable commodity, needed to boil water to make it safe. Anzelma's small body bends under the heavy load of wood balanced on her head, but she knows her long journeys into the forest are crucial for her family's survival. One company is attempting to change this by providing, free of charge, 900,000 water filters to the people of Kenya's Western Province. This is the largest household water treatment program in the developing world, and it is being financed with carbon credits earned through the reduction in use of firewood. If successful, it will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million tons per year for a decade or more. However, this requires that 4.5 million people change their habits.