March 22nd is World Water Day, a day to bring attention to the over 600 million people in the world without access to clean water. Access to clean water and sanitation are key to breaking the cycle of extreme poverty, and women and girls are the most highly impacted when lacking those basic human necessities.
In many areas girls miss out on school because they spend most of their day walking miles to collect water for their families. Girls who do make it to school often drop out once menstruation begins due to lack of facilities. UNICEF reports that approximately 6,000 children die of water related diseases every day, most under the age of five.
Photo: Elizabeth Atalay
WaterAid is the leading international nonprofit in the clean water, sanitation and hygiene sector, and has called on Congress to oppose the proposed 28.7% cut to funding for the US Agency for International Development and Department of State, proposed in the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Blueprint. WaterAid states that this action is “out of line with America’s priorities, US moral leadership, national security interests, and the needs of poor and vulnerable people worldwide.” I stand with WaterAid in calling on Congress to fully fund international assistance.
The recently launched WaterAid #GirlStrong campaign takes aim at the inequalities faced disproportionately by women and girls who live without clean water and proper sanitation. Access to clean water opens up access to better health, and more time for education. It is estimated that somewhere around 260 billion dollars are lost from the global economy due to reduced productivity and health care costs from illnesses linked to lack of clean drinking water, poor sanitation, and hygiene. Watch the video below to see more reasons why access to clean water needs to be a priority for all.
The irony was not lost on me. I knew as I sipped the cool glass of water that this was not a luxury shared by most back at home. Here I sat in a café in New York City meeting with Water Aid representatives, discussing clean water, and sanitation in developing countries. Meanwhile, there was a water ban going on in my own hometown. Deadly E. Coli bacteria had been detected in the public water source. Stores had already run out of bottled water, families had to boil their water for use, and the town was in crisis. As a mom I felt guilty enough being away from home for a conference for several days, and now this! There is nothing like an interruption to what you take for granted to make you appreciate it more.
Everybody has a #WaterStory, and as a traveler I have many. Water is an issue I have had to think about often on visits to developing countries. When you scoop your drinking water out of a river to drink, with floaties swirling around, despite the iodine tablet you put in to make it potable, it makes you think. When visiting villages in Borneo I too used the village river to bathe in, to wash my clothes, and to drink from. In the Sahara I felt what is was to be parched by the lack of water, and in the Congo I carried 20 lb. Jerry cans to and from the local spring to gather fresh water for use. Sure I got sick a few times along the way, but I always had the proper medication I needed with me when I did. According to the UN around 90% of sewage in the developing world is discharged untreated into rivers, some of those same rivers I bathed in and drank from I’m sure.
Doing laundry in the river Photo taken by the author
The fact is that according to #WaterAid768 million people in the world today do not have access to safe drinking water. That is roughly 1 in 10 people in the world who do not have access to clean water with which to cook, wash or to drink. Water is something that runs abundant where I live, that is so taken for granted, yet is worth more than gold to those who don’t have it. Water is Life after all.
Access to clean water and sanitation is a key element to breaking the cycle of extreme poverty. Women and girls are most effected by lack of access to water and sanitation. In many areas girls miss out on school because they spend much of their day walking miles to access clean water for their families. Those girls who do make it to school often drop out once menstruation begins if there are no private toilet facilities available. UNICEF reports that 6,000 children die of water related diseases every day. The most susceptible being children under the age of five.
Here are some water facts shared by WaterAid to think about:
97.5% of the earth’s water is saltwater. If the world’s water fitted into a bucket, only one teaspoonful would be drinkable.
For every $1 invested in water and sanitation, $4 is returned. (WHO)
While the world’s population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. (World Water Council)
The average North American uses 400 liters of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking. The average person in the developing world uses only 10 liters every day. (WSSCC))
My #CheerstoH2O Selfie
Saturday March 22nd is World Water Day! Let’s come together to take action. You can use your voice to tell congress to support the Paul Simon Water for the World Act. Or upload photos of you drinking water with the hashtag #CheerstoH20 , do you like mine? You can also use Facebook or twitter to share the message of #Water4all or share your #waterstory.
Water Aid works side-by side with local communities to ignite monumental change by giving them the tools that they need to break down barriers and make water and toilets an accessible reality for everyone in their community. WaterAid has helped 19.2 million people reach safe water since 1981. Learn more about how we make it happen! – www.wateraid.org
I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.
Today is the first ever World Toilet Day and a new report released today Co-published by WaterAid, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, and Unilever’s leading household cleaning brand, Domestos, We can’t waithighlights the stark consequences that the lack of toilets and good hygiene practices have for women and girls. according to this report there are still 2.5 billion people in this world without adequate sanitation. Lack of sanitation directly impacts education, health and safety, especially for women and girls.
“One in three [people] lack access to adequate sanitation,” noted UN Deputy-Secretary General, Jan Eliasson and Unilever Chief Executive Officer, Paul Polman in the report. “The result is widespread death and disease and social marginalization. Poor sanitation exposes women and girls to the risk of assault and, when schools cannot provide clean, safe toilets, girls’ attendance drops.”
In Rhode Island, one man has come up with an innovative solution. Dr Stephen Mecca is a Professor in the department of Engineering-Pysics-Systems at Providence College, and a visiting scholar at the University of Ghana. He co-Invented the micro flush valve and with his research team has created an environmentally sensible , sanitary, and dignified, re-invention of the toilet. Designed for warm weather environments, this toilet takes less than a cup of water to flush, and that comes from the hand washing of the previous user. In the above video Dr. mecca explains how it works.
This Microflush toilet is the type of innovation that can transform lives, and the We Can’t Wait Report shows that strong partnerships between the public and private sectors are key to tackling the sanitation crisis, and that more frequent cross-sector collaboration is essential to improving the lives of women and girls.
Infographic source: the We Can’t Wait report
About WaterAid
WaterAid’s vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. The international organization works in 27 countries across Africa, Asia, Central America and the Pacific Region to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in some of the world’s poorest communities. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 19 million people with safe water and, since 2004, 15 million people with sanitation. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org, follow @WaterAidAmerica on Twitter or visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraidamerica.
Madagascar is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean with a population of around 22 million. When Madagascar is mentioned, a lush landscape of biodiversity and unique wildlife is conjured in the imagination . When I learned I’d be writing about the WaterAid campaign to provide clean water and sanitation to thousands of children there, I called our friends Jim and Annick who had grown up and lived in Madagascar.
They describe the country as a tropical paradise, with unique cultural diversity, and as one of the most beautiful places on earth. While consistent with our perceptions of Madagascar, much of the population also lives in poverty. Jim adds that occasionally something will happen to remind you that this paradise is also one of the poorest places in the world.
This summer, let’s build something incredible… children’s futures! Be part of a unique project transforming the lives of Madagascar’s schoolchildren with taps and toilets.
Photo by Igor Laszlo
In Madagascar, the lack of taps and toilets is a big problem.
Every year, 13,000 children under five die due to water-related diseases. With half the population under 16, young people across the country are affected in many different ways.
This summer, you have an amazing opportunity to transform the lives of 12,000 children. With your help, we can reach 31 schools with over 100 toilets and 150 taps in total.
– www.wateraidamerica.org
Jim also clearly remembered visiting the Morondava area of Madagascar where WaterAid will be working this summer to improve water and sanitation conditions. He remembered well because he became horribly sick after a meal there with one of the worst intestinal illnesses he can remember. As he described the geography of the area, it sits on the West Coast Canal of Mozambique where hurricane season ricochets between the coasts of Mozambique, Tanzania, and Madagascar. The topography of the region is flat, and sits by the ocean, and despite its beauty, the clean water supply becomes tainted each year with the storms, and heavy rains, causing a surge in water related illness around that time. Jim states that “You are in Paradise, but Hell is not too far away”. For a child without access to proper healthcare, an illness like the one Jim experienced can be deadly.
Morondava Beach Photo by Igor Laszlo
Over the next few weeks you can follow the story as children in Madagascar get the water and sanitation they need to keep them healthy enough to build their dreams.
Children like Perlette and Zafera.
Follow their story on Twitter #buildfutures or Donate to help the project reach their goal.
Perlette: “I want to be a doctor”
“I am 13 years old. I love school, as it is the only way to be clever. When I am older I want to be a doctor and treat sick children. I have missed school because of drinking dirty water. It may stop me from being a doctor.”
Zafera: “I want to be a midwife”
“Science and geography are my favorite lessons. When I finish my studies, I would like to be a midwife like my aunt. If we have water and toilets here, we will be more engaged in our studies.”
All summer long they will be posting real-time updates on the two girls, the progress of the construction with a celebration on Sept. 19 when kids return to schools with taps and toilets for the first time. Check out the plans!
Please join me on an incredible journey. I’ll be bringing you stories and pictures from Tsimahavaobe school in Morondava, so you too can see the amazing transformation.- Ernest Randriarimalala, WaterAid Madagascar
I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.
Our Motto: Individually we are all-powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.
I wrote this post as part of The 
