No words necessary

World Water Day

Today is World Water Day! Did you try the water challenge? How's it going? I've not been the best but just being involved and attempting has made me more aware of how fortunate I am to have access to safe, clean water.

Some facts...

3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

43% of water-related deaths are due to diarrhea.

84% of water-related deaths are in children ages 0 - 14.

98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world.

884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one in eight people.

The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

Less than 1% of the world's fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use.

An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than the typical person living in a developing country slum uses in a whole day.

Without food a person can live for weeks, but without water you can expect to live only a few days.

The daily requirement for sanitation, bathing, and cooking needs, as well as for assuring survival, is about 13.2 gallons per person.

Water projects in developing countries fail at an average rate of 50% or higher.

Only 62% of the world's population has access to improved sanitation - defined as a sanitation facility that ensures hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact.

2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation, including 1.2 billion people who have no facilities at all.

At any one time, more than half of the poor in the developing world are ill from causes related to hygiene, sanitation and water supply.

Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.

Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time.

What can we do? Research - there are quite a few organizations on a mission to end the water crisis. Interested in a specific country? Email some local groups there and donate. Pray. Join the water challenge. For more water info, visit Blood: Water Mission's website.

Got Water?

The scarcity at the heart of the global water crisis is rooted in power,
poverty and inequality... (UNDP)

Did you know that, according to people who study human development, a person needs a little more than 5 gallons of water each day to survive? Given the extreme drought in many parts of Africa, millions of people are having to live on less than a gallon per day. Even if water is available, access to clean water is not. Therefore, people are consuming dirty water leading to many horrific health ailments. Where are the doctors? Wait - no food, no water, I'm sure education is high up on the list of concern for these folks.

There are SO many organizations that are trying to do good and many are working very hard at accomplishing their goals. But with the economy strapped all over the world, it's difficult for anyone to accomplish much of anything. Or is it? I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Compassion International actually reported an increase in child sponsorships despite the economy's current state.

As the world seems to fall apart, what are you doing to make it better? I skipped Do Something Monday this week. Next week I'll pick back up with it and report on our situation in Goma.

Follow up

I feel like I should follow up on that last post. I'm obviously pretty passionate about the situation with the global food crisis and since the media doesn't fill you in... here's the down and dirty:

What is the crisis all about?
Families in every nation on every continent are affected. Food prices for popular menu items like rice, wheat and beans have doubled in the last year. While increases in food prices have hit all budgets, it's the poor who bear the brunt of this inflation. The higher prices are forcing people who survive on just $1 a day to spend upwards of 80 percent of their budgets just on food. As a result, many people, including millions of children, are going hungry. The longer food prices rise, the more people will be plunged into hunger and poverty.

Why is it happening?
Food shortages have affected developing countries for generations. It's a cyclical problem. But this global food crisis is more rapid, urgent and devastating. Since 2005, food prices have risen a whopping 80 percent...mostly due to rising fuel costs (although my sister just called and said she saw it for $1.89 where she lives, wow!), rising food demand from populous nations like India and China, natural disasters destroying crop yields all over the world (US included), and growth of biofuels.

What can we do?
If you have a charity of choice, call them -- ask what they are doing to help, then donate. If you don't have a charity of choice, you can donate to Hope Aid or one of these other reputable organizations: Oxfam America, UNICEF, Compassion, Mercy Corps.

Then tonight, when you say your prayers and you get to the part about being thankful for your daily bread, remember to pray for all of the people who may struggle to find their daily bread.

And of course, you can join me in sponsoring a child. :) There are lots of organizations out there... Compassion is my favorite. Speaking of, I should write about them. Stay tuned, they're cute!