As the sun rises over the rural Ugandan valley, a group of 12-year-old girls gets ready for the day ahead. Instead of reaching for a backpack for school, each girl takes a 5-gallon jerrycan that will hold the water her family needs for the day. While 12-year-olds in other countries think about the latest fashion trends, sleepovers with friends or after-school activities, these girls from Uganda must sacrifice their schooling and any dreams of the future for a life sentence of carrying water.
The girls walk a few miles to get to the nearest water outlet — a 30-minute journey one way — and wait in line for everyone else to fill their jerrycans. Once filled, they carry the 5-gallon jugs, each weighing around 40 pounds, by hand because the terrain is too rough for wheelbarrows and other tools to lighten the load. Each of the girls comes home exhausted from the trip, but the day has only just begun.