Global Water Magazine Article

Water ... worth more than gold and necessary for survival above all other resources on earth.

And yet, over one billion men, women, and children (more than four times the population of the United States and Canada combined) do not have safe water to drink and therefore cannot live a healthy life.

Who are these people?

They are the innocent children and desperate families living in overcrowded urban ghettos, in refugee encampments, and in towns and villages too numerous to count in rural areas of developing countries.

Here, less than 50% of the population have access to safe drinking water and only 25% have access to sanitary systems.

They are unfortunate victims of drought and ever-changing environmental conditions. When drought occurs, their countryside is transformed into an arid wasteland where every living thing seems to cry out for lack of water.

These precious people do not have enough water to grow and harvest food, enough water to keep their livestock alive, enough clean water to protect themselves and their children from hunger and disease.

They do not have enough water to survive

Without water, crops and livestock wither and die. People go hungry and become weak. Weakness allows disease to run its course and finally the “Quiet Killer” – hunger, takes its toll.

At this moment, many communities in over 50 countries throughout the world are suffering needlessly because water is either insufficient or polluted or may not exist at all.A sad irony is that many times there is life saving water just 100 feet away! Directly underground. So near, yet too far for people lacking the tools and knowledge to reach it.

But with technologies ranging from simple and inexpensive to state-of-the-art, Global Water is helping poor communities in developing countries find new supplies of clean, life-sustaining water.And when clean, fresh water begins to flow in a community -- a whole new life begins – free from the threat of food shortages and a myriad of health-related problems that are associated with hunger.

That’s the power of water

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Even if there is enough food to eat, families may still be slowly dying from another form of hunger called “invisible hunger” and it comes from drinking unsafe water.Waterborne parasites, received from drinking contaminated water, multiply continuously in already weakened bodies -- robbing their hosts of the nourishment and energy they need to grow and develop normally.

A full 80% of fatal childhood diseases that kill children and destroy families worldwide are caused -- not by shortages of food and medicine -- but by drinking contaminated water. When you think of fighting hunger, you may think only of emergency relief efforts bringing shipments of food. When you think of healing disease, you may think only of doctors, nurses and medicine.

But you can actually stop hunger, heal disease and save many thousands of precious lives with the simple gift of water. And long after a humanitarian relief effort has ended and temporary medical teams have gone -- the gift of water continues to heal.

It's the solution that lasts a lifetime

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Water ... can overcome poverty

Water is the lifeblood of a community. When water is unsafe to drink, the entire community suffers.

Sick children lack the energy to learn and weak young men lack the drive to work hard – and so poverty continues.In many rural communities, it is the women and children who are responsible for locating and transporting water. Fulfilling this daily responsibility often leaves little or no time for women to pursue developmental opportunities and for the young to get an education – and so poverty continues.

Nothing can change a community like providing a source of clean water for the first time. It creates a complete transformation. It has the power to actually stop the cycle of poverty. The entire community becomes healthier. For the first time, children become eager to learn while young men and women are able to work harder to produce an income and more food. Everyone can envision better futures and begin working towards them.Giving clean water to a poverty stricken community is like giving a blood transfusion to a dying man. Water means new potential, new hope for a better tomorrow, and a new life.

Simply put - Global Water helps people help themselves