There remain 16 countries in the world where 40% or more of their population does not have access to clean water – WaterAid
What many of us take for granted, clean, safe water to drink, cook with, bathe in, and with which to wash our clothes, is an expensive luxury to hundreds of millions of people around the world. The cost is not just monetary. 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. Access to clean water is a global humanitarian priority, and world wide awareness of water as a precious resource is needed to tackle the issue. Water is life.
“Clean, affordable drinking water is not a privilege: it’s a fundamental human right. This World Water Day, let’s celebrate the unprecedented progress that’s been made in helping more people than ever before gain access to clean water. But let’s also double down on our efforts so that everyone, everywhere can exercise their basic right to clean water by the year 2030.”-Sarina Prabasi, WaterAid America Chief Executive
Photo Credits: Elizabeth Atalay taken while on a New Media Fellowship trip to Ethiopia with the International Reporting Project to report on Newborn Health.
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,December 3 is #GivingTuesday, a movement inspired by The United Nations Foundation & 92Y to create a national day of giving that kicks off the giving season on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here are just a few of the ways you can give back this year:
1. ONE thinks the perfect #GivingTuesday gift is Heifer and ONE’s Limited Edition Goat. Giving just one goat to a family in need can be enough to change their entire lives. One goat can provide up to one ton of milk a year – and that translates to milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products a family can sell on the market for income. And not just temporarily – the benefits of livestock are long-term and only grow over time. Just take a look at this infographic .
2. Shop on #GivingTuesday at Diapers.com or any of these sites and they will be donating one life-saving vaccine through the Shot@Life campaign with every $50 purchase when you use code SHOTATLIFE50.
3. For #Giving Tuesday every dollar donated to WaterAid for safe water and toilets will be matched. If Water Aid can raise $50,000 by midnight, that amount will be doubled! Sip it, quench it, save it,give it, #doubleit with WaterAid for #GivingTuesday.
4. SupportEvery Mother CountsFor as little as $5, you can help provide transportation for a pregnant woman in Uganda, so that she has access to life saving care when she may need it most. 100% of every dollar that is contributed will be directed to programs on the ground.
Or order your custom holiday cards with Minted, where 10% of every purchase made here will go directly to Every Mother Counts.
Or Purchase some Oiselle EMC running gear here, where 40% of the proceeds go to support Every Mother Counts.
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 
