Every Monday we profile a Dow Live Earth Run for Water partner organization that works toward providing solutions to the nearly 1 billion people who lack access to clean, safe water. To donate to one of these projects, visit liveearth.org/give.

In the spring of this year, I traveled to L’Esperance Orphanage in Rwanda where I found a wellspring of hope amidst the surrounding village’s poverty and water woes. It's fitting after all – "l'esperance" for all of the non-French speakers means "hope."

The homes in the village surrounding the orphanage had no clean water. This meant that local children had to make a daily trek 11 stories downhill to a pumping station and carry back-breaking jugs of water back up the hill.