Of all the many challenges facing the inhabitants of the African continent, there is one elemental need regularlyoverlooked by the industrialized world. Award-winning photographer Gil Garcetti has created an important visual document intended to show the world whyWater is Key. The book contains eighty compelling black-and-white photographs that illustrate the immediate need for safe water and the dramatic results that can be achieved through the help of world leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and involved citizens. Short essays by leaders such as President Jimmy Carter and outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan are accompanied by quotes from NGO staff and West African villagers themselves. A foreword by Steve Hilton, president of theConrad N. Hilton Foundation, describes the foundation's important safewater relief efforts in Niger, Ghana, Mali, and Burkina Faso. A directory of NGOs and safe water projects in West Africa is included. Gil Garcetti intendsWater is Key to be a call to action and plans to spend a substantial part of his energies in the next two years to making his campaign a successful one. All of his royalties from bookstore sales of this book will be donated to a safe-water NGO.