NFL charity “Waterboys” brings water to East Africa

New England Patriots Defensive End Chris Long founded “Waterboys” to unite NFL players from across the league in order to supply water to East Africa.

Long decided to create Waterboys after he witnessed extreme poverty and water scarcity during a visit to Tanzania.

The water deficit in East Africa has reached crisis levels due to a prolonged drought; which has been exacerbated by the impact climate change.

2015 was the hottest year on record, with 32 major droughts, double the ten-year average.

The consequences of water scarcity go beyond insufficient access to drinking water, also limiting educational, economic and agricultural opportunities and shortening the life expectancy of the most vulnerable.

Waterboys unites NFL players from across the league, putting aside allegiance and teaming up with fans to provide clean and accessible drinking water to rural communities in East Africa.

The charity provides vulnerable communities with safe and sustainable water by hiring local crews to drill deep borehole wells.

To date, 15 wells have been funded, each serving 7,500 people at a cost of $45,000.

The goal is to build at least 32 wells, one for each NFL team.

Long said: "Clean water saves lives and it’s the easiest way charitably, I believe, to give a dollar and get a lot in return in productivity".

He went on to say: "Your money’s going to directly impact and save lives, but also to improve a community in all facets - improve efficiency, education, agriculture. All that stuff is improved and transformed because of clean water. It’s a holistic approach to improving lives."

Find out more at: https://waterboys.org/