The Economic Fallout from the Water Crisis
When people are faced with water scarcity, generally it means they are also faced with food scarcity. In addition stark economic implications for those directly involved as well as for the global community. It is estimated $260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of basic water and sanitation. Additionally the World Bank estimates by 2050, “water scarcity in some regions could impact GDP growth by up to 11.5%”.
Agriculture is one of the biggest users of water, and when there is a shortage of water from both a growing demand as well as supply due to droughts and flooding; people cannot maintain their crops and food sources dry up. In Sub-Saharan Africa, several years of little to no rain during the rainy seasons, extended droughts and floods have made it extremely challenging for 90 percent of the rural population who depend on agriculture as their primary source of income. The region’s farming mainly relies on rainfall; and the significance of unpredictable rainfall, rising temperatures, extreme drought, and lower crop yields is a real threat to Africa’s poorest communities.
Along with people in Africa, many in the Svay Leu region in Cambodia also spend a good part of their day gathering water rather than having the time to work jobs and earn money. Women and girls typically do most of the water gathering, which can take several hours each day to walk to a distant source of water like a river or pond. Others spend multiple times a day waiting in line at a water station, sometimes for hours, for their chance to fill water vessels, which they must then carry back home. Lack of water and the time spent gathering it takes women and girls not only away from working but going to school, trapping them in a cycle of poverty.
Ladebe, a mother from Bensa, Ethiopia, cares for her three remaining children at home as well as prepares food, cleans the family compound, cares for their cows, collects firewood, works on the farm and gathers water. She describes the trip to collect water as one where she must travel to a pond located at a higher altitude making travel difficult especially on the way down carrying heavy containers of water. Ladebe explains, “The place where we collect water is muddy and slippery. I fell many times and have broken my leg before.”
However despite the time spent and the hazards of the trip, the water Ladebe gathers for her family comes from an unprotected spring. It is subject to debris and dirt along with bacteria from animals and runoff from waste. Due to the contamination in the water, the family is frequently sick.
Lifewater projects are much more than a well. We provide improved sanitation, hygiene and the love of Christ to families like Ladebe’s so parents can work and children can go to school. Local investment ensures safe water sources last for generations to come; and your generous donation makes it possible.to the growing humanitarian crisis, an inadequate water supply has
Our Projects are designed to Last for Generations
Lifewater’s mission is to provide solutions that work for a village today as well as work for generations that follow. After a 39-year history of bringing safe water to serve 2.5 million people around the world, Lifewater introduced a program called the Vision of a Healthy Village in 2016. The program reflects our commitment to real, lasting change.
This means each and every one of our projects are a lot more than just providing a safe water source to a community. In order for the water to remain uncontaminated, everyone using the water must adopt healthy habits for sanitation and hygiene known as WASH. Sustainable change must also include investing in lasting relationships person to person and house by house.
As the Lifewater team recognizes our water systems should be built to serve the needs of people now and in the future; we follow a comprehensive process to ensure it happens. It starts with careful planning including vetting out the best option for safe water as well as forming relationships with the people the water will serve. We know when a person contributes something of value; they feel more a part of the project, which is why we ask the community to contribute up to 15% in labor, materials or funds.
Our engineers are some of the best in the industry and are experienced in developing custom-designed plans that offer the most optimal solution for a village based on the hydrogeology (the study of groundwater) in the community, population size, and locally-available materials. This determines what type of water source a community receives.
Options include hand-dug wells in places with water available at less than 100 feet below ground. Once dug, the well is lined, capped and equipped with a hand pump. Drilled wells are used in places with water more than 100 feet underground and where roads are available to bring in the appropriate equipment needed. Other solutions include using a natural spring, harvesting rainwater or rehabilitating an existing source.
By relying on real time data tracking, local technology and community-led support, a Lifewater project provides a lasting transformation. All of our projects include 5 years of water monitoring for signs of contamination. Reliable relationships with local suppliers also allow communities to quickly make repairs to their system and get it back up and running.
Lifewater hires and trains local health monitors to teach families the health habits of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene practices). To oversee the water source, we help the village form a Water Committee responsible for monitoring proper use of local water points and collecting fees used toward maintenance and repairs.
Give with confidence to Lifewater International and help us fund more live-saving projects. When people are provided with safe water, sanitation and hygiene, they can lead healthier, more productive lives. Please visit our website and donate today.
The Dire Consequences of the Global Water Crisis
Water is not only essential to human survival but core to sustainable development. It fuels socio-economic growth, energy and food production and healthy ecosystems. Sanitation and hygiene are as essential as safe water in reducing disease and improving health as well as increasing opportunities for education and economic productivity.
The latest figures published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, finds 2 billion people (26% of the population) globally do not have safe drinking water, and 3.6 billion (46%) lack access to safely managed sanitation. They show between two and three billion people experiencewater shortagesfor at least one month per year, posing severe risks to livelihoods, food security and access to electricity. With the number of people in need growing and not enough help available, it is incumbent we all become part of the solution.
Contaminated water results in rampant and deadly waterborne diseases in far too many places. Areas without safe water mean families must drink water that is making them sick. Even more do not have access to a toilet or the ability to wash their hands. While the whole community suffers from unsafe water, women and children’s lives are often the most affected. Tragically a child dies every two minutes from a preventable waterborne illness caused by microscopic organisms, like viruses and bacteria ingested through the contaminated water. The fact is if every person had access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene; waterborne diseases would not exist.
In places without asafe water source, women and children are typically responsible for collecting it. It is estimated trips to obtain safe water can take 200 million hours each day globally. By spending a large amount of their day collecting safe water for their families, women are often prevented from working and planning for the future.
When children do not have access to safe water, it cannot only profoundly affect their health but also their educational opportunities. It is estimated 443 million school days are lost each year due to no water at the site. The toll is even worse for girls in schools without water as it means there are no facilities to manage menstrual hygiene.
Additionally almost a third of women globally do not have a safe place to go to the bathroom, which threatens their health and exposes them to shame, fear and in some cases, violence. This too affects productivity and livelihoods.
Lifewater is a Christian, clean water organization; which has been serving families in remote, rural villages with safe water and improved hygiene and sanitation for over 45 years. Our projects are much more than a well. With our help, parents are more productive and able to plan for the future, and children can stay healthy and pursue an education. Visit our website today to make a donation to help save lives one village at a time.
Source:
www.unesco.org/en/articles/imminent-risk-global-water-crisis-warns-un-world-water-development-report-2023#:~:text=Globally%2C%202%20billion%20people%20(26,Water%20Conference%20in%20New%20York.
“World Water Day” Highlights the Crisis of Unsafe Drinking Water
For over 40 years, Lifewater International, a top-rated Christian water charity, has been committed to a world where children can wake up each morning knowing they have clean water, sanitation and hygiene to help keep them healthy. The work is critical as statistics show 1 in 10 people in the world live without access to clean water and 1 in 4 lack access to a toilet, essential basics many of us take for granted. Sadly, the result is every two minutes a child dies from a preventable waterborne disease.
On March 22, World Water Day once again focuses on raising awareness of the global crisis. Established in 1993 by the United Nations, the event highlights the importance of sustainable water use and how it supports economic, social and human development. This year’s campaign theme is on “Accelerating Change.”
At Lifewater, we rely on the generosity of people like you to help eradicate waterborne diseases with sustainable solutions for basic access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene practices. Without them, too many families walk miles for water that makes them sick, spend their income on medication, and struggle to send their children to school.
The crisis disproportionately affects women as 80% of water collecting is done by women or girls who spend hours gathering water rather than working and going to school, trapping them in a cycle of poverty. Today’s most affected places include villages in East Africa and Southeast Asia that are challenging to serve as they are in rural areas without access to rudimentary infrastructure and technology.
However Lifewater doesn’t believe in just going to easy places but are guided by our faith knowing “‘Jesus cares about everybody.” Our work includes bringing clean water, improved health, and the hope of the gospel to the world’s hardest to reach places.
Our WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) program is about a lot more than building a well. Every community we serve is taught hygiene and sanitation habits to keep the village healthy and ensure safe water sources last for generations to come. Clean water and safe bathrooms in local schools also mean more children stay in school and have more opportunities for brighter futures.
Your gift to Lifewater allows us to serve communities in Ethiopia, Uganda, Cambodia and Tanzania. In Cambodia alone, 1 in 5 people do not have access to clean water, and 1 in 3 people do not have access to a toilet or the means to wash hands with soap and water. Chompey, a mother living in the Svay Leu region where a project is still funded, says, “My children often get sick with stomach aches and fevers,” and looks forward to a day when her family has clean, accessible water.
We are confident Lifewater’s work will have life-sustaining impact as access to clean water, health and opportunity empowers communities to thrive. Please visit our website to learn more.