Blog Action Day 2010: Water

Well friends, its been awhile and I confess I don't know how soon I will reappear on the blog but in the mean time I didn't want to miss the opportunity to draw your attention to something that's not only very close to my heart but also significant for our world.

Today is Blog Action Day (I didn't actually know this was a thing until yesterday; I caught it just in time!). Here's what a website told me: Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussion and driving collective action. This year's topic is water.

So, what does this have to do with anything? Well, right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us.

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.

But, water moves beyond just a human rights issue. It’s an environmental issue, an animal welfare issue, a sustainability issue. Water is a global issue, deserving a global conversation.*

Additionally, I recently learned that unsafe water and lack of sanitation cause 80% of all sickness on the planet and kills 2.2 million people every year. (That's more than all forms of violence, including war).**

Do you ever get impatient when you feel like people are wasting your time? Like when teachers (or bosses) give you busy work, or when you have to wait in line - standing or in your car? What about the minutes adding up into hours running errands? That can be annoying. But get this: African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms (that's nearly 40 pounds) to gather water, which is usually still not safe to drink.* 40 billion hours. That's unfathomable but please, take a moment to at least try to let that sink in. Can you imagine walking for hours just to get some water, that's not even safe, only to carry it back home? These women are doing it today. They did it yesterday and will do it again tomorrow.

Please, consider how you can help. Get involved - educate yourself and others. Charitywater.org is a great place to start. Give some money. Consider this: Christmas is coming... what if you joined a the conspiracy? http://adventconspiracy.org/ (You can start by watching the video on the main page).

Again, this is something that gets me "excited". Yes, the need is great but in great need lies great opportunity. I am challenged and inspired. There's more to come but please at least start thinking about how you can get involved. Start engaging in conversations with your friends, your spouse, your coworkers, and family about the need and how to get involved.

Clean, safe drinking water and sanitation is a big problem but it's one that we can solve. Let's care for our brothers and sisters around the world and the world itself. Let's do something...I join in: Clean water for all by 2020. It starts now.

*http://blogactionday.change.org/why-water
** charity:water; they can be reached at charitywater.org