Water Poverty

Water Poverty

via CloudFactory Poverty Solutions

Can clean water and dirty water both flow form the same spring?

When times get tough, we have tendency to take stock of who we really are. What are we made of? We are made of water, lots and lots of water. About 60% of our body is water. SO what happens when dirty water and clean water meet? Can clean water come from dirty water? The simple answer is NO. Clean water is clean water and dirty water is dirty water. The origin of the proverb focused on the words that we speak, yet the natural implications are nonetheless true. When clean water and dirty water meet, the result is dirty water.

Imagine if every year Los Angeles or Nairobi or Sydney disappeared. The people that called any of those cities home just died off. The scary truth is that is exactly what happens every year. Water related diseases across the planet are the source. Every year 3 million+ people die from an issue that we already know how to solve. During the course of a one hour meeting, such as this, 180 children will die from a water borne disease.

Water related diseases are primarily linked to poor sanitation. This isn't just a problem in rural villages. Nearly every city in the developing world increase the number of people living in their slums each year. Rarely, if ever will there be proper sanitation systems to handle the waste created in these communities. Even more they pay more for clean water than more developed neighbourhoods in the same city. There are more mobile phones than proper toilets in the world. How can these realities change? Reports indicate that we should be focus in on these four areas: 

• Clean water supplies
• Proper sanitation practice
• Proper human hygiene practices
• Water management and waste processing

Currently the world is spending 200 million hours of work each day finding clean water for their families. That's the same amount of time it would take to build a 100 story tall building 28 times. Just imagine how many other improvements and projects could be implemented when the world didn't have to spend so much of their day obtaining clean water.

If we know what the problems are, why are we still facing them? The problem is that many times people are given solutions, they didn't choose or weren't even asked to take part in. Overall the estimates are that 50% of the water projects that are attempted fail, because the community wasn't involved, because the community wasn't involved.

Focusing on what has the greatest impact is a good strategy in any discipline. If 60% of your grade came from on assignment, one test, one speech, how much time would you spend preparing for it? Most people would put the majority of their energy towards that work. Water is important and impactful, it makes up more than half of the amazing creation known as you.

Benefits of a world rich in clear water

• On average, every $1 USD put towards clean water provided a return on the investment up to $8 USD. Clean water frees us time and money for other beneficial activities.
• Less crowded hospitals. Nearly half of the world's hospital beds are being occupied by people with water related illnesses.
• More children would survive and become a part of our societies.
• The amount of goods and serves that we could create would be vastly increased.

*all facts quoted derived from water.org