It’s About Time

A Note from Kelly Coleman, Executive Director of Save the Rain

With age, I have come to understand that no currency is more valuable than time. It is a privilege to extract every second from every hour, and to have a moment to replenish in stillness.

Eighteen years ago, a confluence of magic and destiny brought us to Joseph’s home in Tanzania. His daughter Violeth walked for water daily. Her 9-year-old body broken from the labor and the dangerously high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in the nearby river. We built our first-ever rainwater harvesting system together on his house. Months later, as we were driving through the dusty villages in Kingori, we passed a woman and baby walking for water. 13 hours later, we saw her again, lugging her buckets and baby back home.

Years later, we sat in a village meeting in the Makiba Ward, listening to Happy explain how the women in her village provided water for their families. They met at midnight, locked their children in the home alone and then waited all night for a tap to turn on—most of the time, it never did. I removed myself from that meeting for a moment. I cried against the wall of a broken water system, built years before, by someone with good intentions but who never returned. That system never worked, not even for a day.

There is never enough time when one searches for water.

During March/Women’s History Month, we celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8th) and World Water Day (March 22nd). We rarely hear the story that binds these two issues together – women’s plight and water availability.

It’s about time that we did.

It’s about time the playing field was leveled.

It’s about time the resources needed to survive are readily available for everyone.

The absence of water at home steals so much. Together, we can change that.

We realize that it’s a tall order, but for Joseph, all those years ago, the solution was obvious: to really help women, we need to give every household a rainwater harvesting system. Every household…? I asked. Yes – every household. And God will bless you.

This month, we are launching a campaign called “It’s About Time.” You will hear stories about incredibly resourceful women and their enslavement to the pursuit of water – their struggles, strengths, and triumphs. Our campaign is not just a call to action. It’s a promise of empowerment. With every rainwater system we install, we’re not just offering clean water; we’re returning time, freedom, and possibilities to women and girls.

Every dollar you donate will be matched up to $21,000, thanks to a very generous donor. With her support, your single act of generosity can turn into a wave of change, doubling the impact on women’s lives in Tanzania.