Because this topic is so widespread throughout the world, I decided to research world-wide facts about drinking water and also to focus on facts from Africa. Not only is clean water a problem in Africa, but so is a consistent, stable water supply in general. On average, women and children in Africa have to walk 3.7 miles to collect water. That water is not guaranteed to be clean water or to be free of parasites that could cause sickness or death. I also learned that not only do people around the world have a lack of water supply but they are much more likely to become sick and even die from the water they do consume. One statistic that I found shocking was that "about 1.8 million child-deaths a year are due to diarrhea". which can be caused by un sanitized water and the death can also be caused by dehydration. Africa and Asian countries seem to be suffering from a lack of clean water greatly. "In a typical year in Africa, 5-10 times the number of people die from diarrhea than of war" and "In a sub-Saharan country a child is 500 times more likely to die from diarrhea than a child from Europe".
The more facts I read about the lack of clean water for children in other parts of the world, the more sad and shocked I was. I wondered why this is such a big problem for so many parts of the world, yet in America we use and waste water because we have no restrictions or lack of supply. I wondered why there is such a huge disparity between my life and a child's life in other countries. As I was reading, I also found many organizations that offer help to people living in these water conditions. One example of an organization is The Water Project. Their projects work with communities to build clean water wells and educates people about how to create clean water. The Water Project also encourages people to drink only water for 2 weeks (to save money from not drinking other products) and to donate the money they saved ($23) to provide one person to access to clean water. Another organization that donates packets of cleansing chemicals to communities that purifies their water (P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water and PUR).
The information I have learned in the very least will make me more cognizant of over using and wasting water in my home and every day life. I would also be interested in donating or running fundraiser through The Water Project. They have a free packet on their website with a lot information packets and posters that would make it very easy to start and run a fundraiser in a school or church setting.
Reference
Scott, M. 2009. 40 shocking facts about water. Retrieved September 14, 2013 from http://matadornetwork.com/change/40-shocking-facts-about-water/.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your blog post. Reading about the amount of deaths that are caused by not having clean drinking water was eye opening. Water is something I believe that we tend to take advantage of because we are so used to having clean water and water at our finger tips. Also, I thought it was amazing that you provided the link to the website to do fundraising, and like you I will be more aware of the water usage in my home.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteVery enlightening post. In prior classes I took here at Walden Universtiy, I became aware of the water crises globally. Through my readings personally, I found out about an organization that Will and Jada Smith have helped with donations. Charity:water is a non-profit organization working to bring clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet. Another organization H20 For Life provides teachings to youth groups, schools and others about the water crisis worldwide. There are so many organizations that hopefully this problem will be eradicated in the future. Thanks for making us aware.
References
http:///www.chatitywater.org
http://www.h20forlifeschools.org/
http://www.charitywater.org
DeleteHello Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your post. It has brought me back to the memory of our local town without clean water. The problem exists in the United States also. I for one know the importance of getting healthy drinking water. I live in a rural area where our small community has in the recent years to get a new water tower, so that we could have clean and healthy drinking water. I was accustomed to drinking water from our private well, but, I decided to buy my home near the town area where the water situation was not so good. The people of the community were very unhappy champers for brief period of time.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your post. It was an interesting read. I am ashame of myself when I complain about not having any spring water and refusing to drink water from the faucet. When people in other countries wish they had clean water period. I am going to check out there web site and see how i could help. Thanks again for the interesting read.
Amanda, your choice of topic is great. I enjoyed reading your post, additional partnerships in this important public health issue can extend the efforts even further.
ReplyDelete