Water

Here are all my posts so far about water. With good reasons referred to as 'the molecule of life', water is absolutely essential for all life on Earth, more so than oxygen and food. There have been entire books written on the biological importance of water, but it also has an important role in our society as well: it is crucial for sanitation (i.e. being clean and healthy), industry, storage (e.g. deep freezing), and much more... The greatest problem we are facing regarding water is providing clean, drinkable water for everyone, so that they can quensh their thirst, grow crops, clean and wash – all things so many of us take for granted...

 

WaterAid – clean drinking water and sanitation

This is a truly heart-felt subject, since I simply cannot imagine living without clean water handily available in a tap. I do not have a sink in my room, and both the door to my room and to the bathroom are really noisy, so I notice easily how often I really go to use the water (since it makes so much noise every time). 

Even when I was hiking in the mountains with my friends last summer, we were spoiled with plentiful rivers of fresh, drinkable meltwater, so there was never a problem.

This is not the case for one eighth of the world, who lacks safe drinking water. Imagine! One person in eight not being able to drink a glass of fresh water when he/she is thirsty, or worse, dying of thirst!

Even more shocking, 4 000 children die every minute because of lack of clean water. This is not so much that they die of thirst – water is abundant on Earth; it is clean water that they lack. Instead, they die of horrible diseases such as cholera because they have no other choice but to drink dirty water, full of bacteria and all sorts of other substances I cannot even imagine. 

4 000 every minute. Children. Just try to fathom that fact! That means about three children die every minute, as I am writing this, and as you are reading it. Take a moment to look at the clock on your wall, follow the movement of the minute hand, and think about the three children somewhere out there that stop breathing for every turn it makes. 

Now, we have wasted enough time! We need to get up and do something. There are people out there that work to help these people that are in so desperate need. WaterAid is one of the charity organisations that help the third world tackle the horrendous life without clean drinking water and proper toilets. 

Although this is problem is spread across the globe, the solutions need to be local. WaterAid works mainly in the poorest areas, providing solutions adapted to the local situation. This might sound like an obvious thing, but it is important to have in mind that water behaves differently in different areas; in order to figure out a viable, practical solution, each area needs expert assessment. Before you construct a well, you need to know how the groundwater flows, and so on. 

WaterAid mostly provides simple equipment to give easy access to clean water, such as local wells, and sanitation facilities (toilets, etc.), as well as free education about hygiene, its practices and importance. They work intimately with the local communities to teach them how to use and maintain the equipment, so that the people can fix any malfunction and repair damage. This is important for making them effectively independent of external aid once the facilities have been installed. This means that the people can make their own way from then onward, having been blessed with a help to get started. It also means that WaterAid can move on and focus resources on new areas! 

In many cases, the nearest water source is a lake far away from home, and it takes a lot of time and strenuous effort to walk there, fill a container with the (usually muddy) water, and then carry it back home. By installing a simple well near a village, the life of its people can be transformed completely. They will not only have fresh, drinkable water and so evade suffering from horrible diseases and spending money on medicine (which can no go to buy food, clothes, books, house maintenance, etc.); they will also have more time to perform other, equally essential tasks, such as working, studying, cooking, building, caring, and so on. 

The same goes for those who have no toilets: a public bathroom can transform an entire neighbourhood! There will be less diseases caused by contamination by faeces all over the streets. There is also a social aspect here: it is simply humiliating to have to fecate in the street, in front of everyone. Sanitation facilities will restore some dignity to the people as well as their health!

There is hope! This problem can be fixed, if we just work hard for it. It does not need greedy governments to wake up, it does not need social reform, it does not need anything more than a collaborative effort: people working together to create more wells and toilets. 

I decided to do something to help these people. I have set up a monthly donation to WaterAid, and I strongly urge you to do the same, if you find this as touching as I do. For only £5  each month in a year, they can produce a hand-driven water pump for a village in need! I realised that is about the amount I spend on spontaneous purchase of cookies and other sweets… It did not take much discussion with myself do cut down that luxury and instead try to save lives! 

Here is a playlist of YouTube videos about WaterAid: