Cleanse the World

By: DeAnna Britton

As Summit on the Summit aired this past Sunday on MTV, many people are now well aware of the water crisis and how far some will go to get their concerns heard. The best way to help is to educate yourself on the crisis. First, you must know the truth and facts about the water quality in the world then raise awareness to your peers and community.

Experts say that approximately a little over 3.5 million people a year will die due to water related diseases. 84 percent of those deaths are among children 0-14 years of age. A person needs 13.2 gallons of clean water every day for sanitation purposes. That’s pretty hard to do when only about 1 percent of the earth’s water is clean enough to be readily used.

Children seemed to suffer from the un-sanitized water the worst. Every 15 seconds a child dies from water related diseases. That is four children per minute. That statistic in itself should cause the world to take notice. Children in poor countries carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies all the time.

Women have an important part in the sanitation of water and food production. According to the World Bank study, women’s participation was associated with the cleanliness of the water. Women also can be given credit for half the world’s food production.

Although this fight may seem too big for us to stop and win, there are many things our country can do to help. In order to meet the drinking water and sanitation target for the Millennium Development Goals, the United States needs to invest $11.3 billion per year. This investment will eventually lead to pay back to the U.S. for $84 billion a year. If our country were to invest, there would be other benefits such as 272 million school attendance days a year, 1.5 billion healthy days for children five and under and healthcare savings of $340 million for individuals and $7 billion for health agencies.

Let the climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro be an inspiration to you to join the fight for clean water. It may be something you take for granted every day. Many countries of the world don’t get the luxury of crystal clear drinking water or bathing water. Get involved by signing up to get Water.org’s monthly newsletter to get an update of the projects they are working towards and other ways you can help. You can also donate and your donation will help bring someone clean water for life. The most important thing you can do is spread the word and get involved. You can also create your own fundraiser. You can do this by going to http://water.org/solutions/help/ . This is our world, let’s help keep it clean.