Clean water…you simply turn on the faucet and it’s there…you fill your glass, take a sip, its as simple as that. Or is it? For you and I a glass of clean and safe water has surpassed being a necessity and a right, its a regular part of life we hardly even think about, we simply just drink and never do we stop and think about how we go our water. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in much of the developing world, getting water is often a fight for life. Water is not just there when you need it nor is it clear, clean and fresh. Getting water is often a daily trek, sometimes a true fight for life. There, water is often a haven for killer diseases.
There are 2.5 billion people without access to adequate sanitation facilities, and some 900 million more people who are left to drink water which remains unsafe, putting their lives in danger with each and every sip. The drink of life truly becomes the drink of death for many, as waterborne illnesses are the second largest cause of death for children under age five.
2008 was the International Year of Sanitation, and while it did bring a great deal of attention to the issue, and enabled many projects, the fight for clean water is far from over and the simple turn of the nob that we take for granted as we brush our teeth has a child on the other side of the world is truly fighting to get a drink. As we gear up for World Water Day on Sunday, March 22, let us not forget we are almost half way through our International Decade of Action, Water For Life (2005-2015), and that action is still needed to ensure the needs of those who continue to face the daily struggle to reach the “water of life”.
