There are many things in life I take for granted. Water is one of the most prevalent. With a flip of my wrist the faucet turns and clean, safe water flows into my home. It is as natural to me as breathing, as steady and reliable as my heartbeat, and it is every bit as vital to my life. I drink it, cook with it, and clean with it.
Take a moment to consider just how reliant you are on water. How would your life change if suddenly our modern water systems were taken from us?
What if water was not brought into your home through modern plumbing, but rather you would have to go get it. It can happen even in developed nations in times of an emergency. When a disaster strikes the first place most of us would go to get water is the grocery store, but, what if there were no supermarkets with bottled water filling their shelves. What if you had to walk outside and hand pump water from a well? That would make you quite inconvenienced in a developed country, but still very privileged in the third world. What if there was no well close to you. What if you had to walk to a natural water source, and you were not even sure if the water was safe. Or maybe you know the water is unsafe, but it's all you have, so you have to risk the water borne illnesses to survive. Think of water for a moment, think of how much your life depends on it. What if that was your everyday? It is the everyday reality for millions of people in our world.
Some Quick World Water Facts
783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation. That is 1 in 9 and 1 in 3 people in the world respectively. (UN figures)
6 to 8 million people die annually from the consequences of disasters and water related diseases. (UN figures)
More than 1,600 children under age 5 die every day from diarrhea caused by unsafe water--that's more than AIDS and malaria combined. (World Vision)
My blog focuses on social justice, so you may ask, what does water have to do with justice? It has plenty to do with it. Lack of clean safe water sources are major contributors to poverty, disease, and violence, all of which create ripe breeding grounds for the injustice of human trafficking. Traffickers seek out people who are caught up in desperate situations, and allowing people to live without access to clean safe water makes them vulnerable to those traffickers. We must break the cycles that keep people locked in destitute poverty to protect them from those who would take advantage of their desperation, and providing water is a great place to start.
It is estimated by the United Nations that in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, that 40 billion hours are taken up every year in the collection of water. To put that in perspective, 40 billion hours is the same as one year's worth of labor by the entire workforce of France. Those lost hours are precious time that could have been spent in gaining education, or in wage earning, or in much needed rest. Women and children carry the majority of the burden of fetching water for their households. Take a moment and imagine all the things you would have to miss out on if you had to take 3 hours out of your day just to go get and bring back water.
The problem is not only in Africa. Consider the mountainous, war ravaged country of Afghanistan. Estimates from the World Health Organization report that more than 133 children in Afghanistan die every DAY due to complications from diarrhea caused by unsafe water. That multiplies out to more than 48,000 children every year. Compare that to the number of Afghan deaths caused by the war conflict in the country. In 2011 the number of war related Afghan deaths was just above 3000 people. Look at those numbers! 16 times as many children are dying from a common and preventable medical condition than the whole amount of men, women, and children that are killed due to the war.
So much suffering exists in this world and thinking on it can be overwhelming. However, the encouraging fact about the problem of inadequate water supply, is that we can actually do something about it. We cannot always prevent wars, or disasters, or acts of violence, but we CAN provide clean safe water and sanitation for people that do not have it.
The benefits of providing safe water are numerous. Instead of being expected to collect unsafe water all day children can get back to the business of gaining an education in school. There schooling would no longer be interrupted by bouts of sickness from water borne illnesses. Parents will be able to have more time to provide care from their families and earn wages. Sustainable agriculture becomes a possibility for the communities where safe water solutions are in place. This has been shown in economic terms by the WHO in that for every dollar invested in clean water and sanitation solutions, a potential economic return of between $3 and $34 exists!
So, where do we start being part of the solution to the water problem.
First of all, spread awareness! Let others know about the sufferings of people in our world without access to clean safe water, and that there is something we can do about it! UNICEF has an amazing amount of resources to educate others and advocate for those without safe water.
UNICEF Water Facts
Check out this blog post from Adam Jeske who works for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship about why he working to help provide clean water. Spread the word about him and the people he's helping. Join him in being part of the solution.
Mom is Drinking From a Mud Puddle
Partner with existing organizations to help fund clean water projects. The Salvation Army is currently working in Papua New Guinea. You can find more information at this link
Salvation Army--Water Sanitation Projects
Another organization that works continually to provide clean water is Blood:Water Mission. They are working to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the water crisis in our lifetime. You can get more information on them here:
Blood:Water.org
For my parting thought, I offer this quote from Cal Newport.
We CAN be part of the solution to the water crisis. Use today.
Please leave any questions on comments below.
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