by Khushi Faldu
Imagine waking up at 4 am, having to walk a round trip of 3.7 miles while carrying a 40-pound jerrycan, just to drink contaminated water. Aside from that, your feet burn with each step you take. You are walking barefoot on hiking terrain in the scorching heat. On top of all this, you must balance the water so that it doesn’t fall—each drop that falls is one less precious drop for your family. Your family is counting on you to get enough water to supply for drinking, cooking, cleaning, washing, and with any spare water, showering. And now, you have to do it all over again- TODAY!
Millions of women and girls have to experience this every day. Compared to them, all we have to do is turn on the faucet and get fresh clean drinking water. If someone takes a 5-minute shower, they are using more water than the average person living in a developing country uses in a full day. Over 70% of the world is covered with water, but only 3% is freshwater. Moreover, ⅔ of that is in glaciers unable for us to use. Sadly, about 785 million (1 in 9) people lack access to water and many drink contaminated water. Children are not able to get an education, just because they have to spend time collecting water.
Furthermore, their water teems with bacteria, so they boil it to kill as many as possible. However, about one person per family is sick every month. Bacteria in the water include Salmonella typhi (causes typhoid), Aeromonas hydrophilae (causes severe dysentery in children and people with weak immune systems), and Vibrio cholerae (causes cholera). In Kenya, there was a cholera outbreak and it affected 30 of the 47 counties. Intestinal parasites also cause stomach aches and diarrhea. If infected with Hepatitis A, liver disease ravages its victim. All of these diseases are spread in contaminated water through drinking, bathing, and handwashing (open spores). Every 21 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness.
I challenge you to try to reduce the amount of water you use. Instead of taking a 5 minute shower, spend half the time. Or remember to turn the faucet off when you are not using it. Please donate money to help developing countries have safe drinking water. Every dollar makes a difference.-https://give.water.org/fundraiser/9590/
Sources
1. Charitywaterblog. (2011, December 09). The story behind the jerry can. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://blog.charitywater.org/post/143491921667/the-story-behind-the-jerry-can
2. Kids' health Issues: 2014. (n.d.). www.rchsd.org/health-articles/clean-water-for-all/
3. Reid, K. (2020, June 05). What's in the water will make you sick. Retrieved February 10, 2021, from https://www.worldvision.org/clean-water-news-stories/what-is-in-the-water-will-make-you-sick
4. Reid, K. (2020, March 19). Walk for Water: Your 6K vs. theirs. www.worldvision.org/clean-water-news-stories/walk-water-6k
5. Water scarcity. (n.d.). www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity#:~:text=Billions%20of%20People%20Lack%20Water,may%20be%20facing%20water%20shortage.