What In The World Is World Water Day?

Never heard of it?  That’s ok. It’s not quite as glamorous as some other days – National Donut Day, National Spaghetti Day, National Buffet Day anyone?  And while World Water Day doesn’t have the appeal that some of these do, it is significantly more important. World Water Day encourages  people of all nations to learn about the world’s water crisis and participate in activities that bring awareness to the importance of water in all aspects of life, including health, environment, agriculture and trade. Water affects everything – from sustaining our bodies and growing crops, to cultivating either peace or turmoil in a developing country.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH DIRTY WATER?

Some of us know about the need for clean water in the world, but for those of you who don’t, here are few statistics:

• A child dies every 90 seconds from water related illness.  Think about that: in the time it takes you to read this blog, another child has died.
• There are over 630 Million people who lack access to clean water worldwide. That’s a population that is slightly larger the entire continent of North America.
• Women and children in developing countries are unable to work or go to school due to walking for hours each day to fetch water.
• Women in India are often forced to marry men with multiple wives for the sole purpose of collecting water each day.

Meanwhile, here are some facts to ponder about our own water consumption in the United States:

• Regular ol’ tap water (you know, the kind many of us can’t imagine drinking!) can be safely consumed from over 90% of our faucets.
• Up to 25% of bottled water is plain, unfiltered tap water that has been bottled. Yep. We’re so naïve.
• The average American uses 80-100 gallons of water per day. An African uses just 5.  Did you know that some toilets still flush with up to 7 gallons? Per flush, people!
• The total number of bottled waters sold in the US is 35,000,000,000 ANNUALLY! (I know. I had to count those zeros three times.)

Pretty staggering, right?  Here we are in 2018 and there are over half a billion human beings who don’t have easy access to clean, safe drinking water!  As an American who is blessed to have drinkable water from my faucet or a fancy plastic bottle whenever we want it, we should remind ourselves how fortunate we are to live here. In this country. In this place. A place where extreme droughts and torrential rains aren’t the only two seasons we endure. Here, where our feet aren’t covered in dust and callouses from the 6 hours we spend walking to a watering hole every day. Here, where we don’t have to lower our bucket into that hole and pull up filthy water that is teeming with deadly bacteria. Here. In this country. Where we don’t have to take that same water back home and give it to our babies.

World Water Day won’t solve the world’s water crisis just by bringing awareness to the issue. But with your help, it CAN change the world for an entire village. Right now, and for generations to come, you can actually be the solution for one person. One family. One village. World Water Day brings awareness so that WE can collectively play a part in solving this problem.

 WHAT WE’RE DOING TO SOLVE THE WORLD’S WATER CRISIS:

Set Free is a ministry that solves this problem – we’ve solved it in over 1,700 villages in West Africa and India since 2005. By raising awareness of the crisis and raising money to fund deep bore wells, we continue to provide this precious resource to thousands of people each year. We CAN solve the water crisis. We can also change the world one village at a time.  As a faith-first ministry, Set Free is dedicated to living out the message of Christ by loving the unreached and embracing the untouchable through the gift of clean water.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO JOIN US:

Listen to the need. Learn about the solution. Love through your gift. Become a #Crowdsourcing Kid by selling a fundraising box of elephants. You can make a difference and be part of the global effort to solve the water crisis. Set Free is committed to finishing our work in India, Sierra Leone, and Liberia by raising funds that will change the lives of the millions who are still without clean water. Your donation is another drop in the bucket of someone else’s precious life. In the same two minutes it took you to read this, you can make a donation towards changing the world. And don’t think for a minute that just because you can’t give a “big” donation means your donation can’t make a difference. That’s nonsense! Two minutes, a couple of clicks and a few dollars will forever change a life…