World Water Week  

March 21-27th, 2011

 

 

 March 22nd, 2011 ~~ World Water Day

 During this period thousands of people are invited to walk 6 kilometres together to prompt action to end this basic human injustice.  

 

Today I discovered that last weekend was World Walks for Water, a global event aimed to raised awareness of the world’s current water and sanitation crisis. There is a demand for the government to Take Action that would prevent the needless deaths of children who have no access to clean water or proper sanitation.

 

On World Water Day 2011 thousands of people across the globe will walk together for 6 kilometres to demand an end to this crisis. The walks will build on the success of the World’s Longest Toilet Queue in 2010, and demand that politicians in the North and the South keep their promises and step up their efforts to ensure water and sanitation for all people, everywhere.

The facts are startling.

• One in eight people in the world do not have access to safe water and almost 40% of the world population don’t have adequate sanitation.
• Women and children walk on average 6km to often unprotected water sources, such as rivers or muddy dugouts. The average weight of water carried is 20 kg. Carrying the heavy water containers back home is an exhausting task, taking up valuable time and energy.
• This lack of access impacts severely upon health, education, and income. Over half the hospital beds in Africa are filled with people suffering from preventable diarrhoeal diseases. Illness and lack of sanitation facilities in the classroom mean children are unable to go to school and miss out on an education.
• Inadequate sanitation and water keep people living in poverty. Economies are damaged – an estimated 5 percent of developing countries’ GDP is lost to illnesses and deaths caused by dirty water and a lack of sanitation.
• Despite numerous national and international commitments, politicians are still ignoring this crisis. Water and sanitation are essential for improving health, education, gender equality and economic growth. We need to make politicians act on their promises (http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/this-weekend-the-world-walks-for-water/).

I have seen images of women walking very far for water and the water they collect is muddy. This is the water they drink and use to cook. Imagine walking all that way to fetch water not fit for use and walking back with the extra load daily. Here in North America, we have easy access to clean drinking water and can shower as often as we want. If we run out of water, we can fill a pot and boil it or run to the nearest convenience store and pick up large bottles that would last us for a week or so.

It’s sad to know that women and child have no clean water and this leads to preventable diseases which means that children miss out on their education because they are unable to go to school because they are sick. We don’t have to worry about sanitation. Many of us have two or more bathrooms in our homes. Yet, millions of people, the majority of them, women and children don’t have a safe place to go to the tiolet. There is lack of water and sanitation. “Every day, many of us enjoy the gift of easy access to safe, clean water,” said President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl Stern.

 “However much we take this for granted we must remember that for many communities water sources are unclean and soap is often not available. In these situations, disease spreads rapidly, with fatal consequences, killing millions of children a year. It may seem too simple, but clean water means life for many of the world’s children” (http://www.care2.com/causes/health-policy/blog/its-world-water-week-for-just-$1-you-can-make-a-difference/).

 

 

I am thankful that there is such an initiative as the World Walks for Water. We need to raise awareness of the plight women and children face each day. We need to provide these communities with clean water so that we can prevent fatalities. I read about UNICEF’s Tap Project which began in 2007. It is a simple idea born out of New York.

Restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

The UNICEF Tap Project has raised almost $2.5 million in the U.S. and has helped provide clean water for millions of children globally.

 

 

 Now in its fifth year, the award-winning UNICEF Tap Project, a nationwide campaign sponsored by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, will return during World Water Week, March 20–26. The first program of its kind, the UNICEF Tap Project has become a dynamic movement that affords everyone the opportunity to help provide the world’s children with safe, clean water.

Through numerous fundraising and volunteer activities, the UNICEF Tap Project celebrates the clean water we enjoy on a daily basis by encouraging celebrity, restaurant, volunteer, corporate, and government supporters to give this vital resource to children in developing countries.

The concept is basic and compelling:  “When You Take Water, Give Water.”  (http://www.tapproject.org/about/).

 

 

 How can we help during this World Water Week?

 

In the US you can donate $1 or more for tap water which you would normally get for free.

 

 

 

 

Water in an Urbanizing World, Stockholm: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/documents/WWW_PDF/2011/1st_Announcement_2011_ls.pdf

 World Walks for Water:    http://www.worldwalksforwater.org/eng/

World Water Week Schedule:  http://www.worldwaterweek.org/programme2011   

 

 

 

A Celebration of Women