WATER.
Yesterday, at the Beyond The Game carepoint (BTG is the NFL sponsored organization that I wrote about), we experienced something incredibly humbling.
People receiving “running” water for the first time in their lives.
When we got to the carepoint, some of the girls helped the women carry water in buckets on their heads from a water source a mile or so away, something that is not uncommon in this area of the world. And trust me, we’ve all tried to do it; it is NOT easy.
After a day of playing with the kids, building shelves, singing, and dancing, all the kids started jumping up and down and screaming, and the women began clapping. All we saw was a big white truck approaching.
It was then that we realized it was a water truck, and the excitement of the afternoon was spurred on by its arrival.
We then watched as the big green, newly-installed, water tank was filled for the first time. Though it’s not technically running water, the women who spend every day cooking food for these children no longer have to break their necks carrying the water on their heads. They can carry their bucket twenty feet and turn a faucet.
I’ve never seen kids so excited.
About water.
The UN suggests that each person needs 20-50 litres of safe freshwater a day to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning.
Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
More than one in six people worldwide – 894 million – don’t have access to this amount of safe freshwater.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP)
Globally, diarrhoea is the leading cause of illness and death, and 88 per cent of diarrhoeal deaths are due to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking water.
Source: JMP
Today 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That’s 1.5 million preventable deaths each year.
Source: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)
Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
More than one in six people worldwide – 894 million – don’t have access to this amount of safe freshwater.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP)
Globally, diarrhoea is the leading cause of illness and death, and 88 per cent of diarrhoeal deaths are due to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking water.
Source: JMP
Today 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That’s 1.5 million preventable deaths each year.
Source: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC)
To learn more about providing water to those who need it, visit these resources:
Thanks for reminding us how blessed and spoiled we are. Even in the 21st century there are people still living in the “Dark Ages.” Makes we want to be alittle more conscious of turning the faucet off quicker and not waste.